Vengeance? No! Avenger!
by Deadlandmarshal
Summary: Harry and Hermione have gone farther than they ever expected in pursuit of the last task Dumbledore left to them, how are they going to handle it being derailed by the actions of the worlds mightiest heroes? Edited by the mighty Pazed!
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, I got an urge to try something a little different. I wanted to see where this would lead so I just started it as a lark, and I'm having some fun with it, so here it is.**

 **Again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 _ **Ok, a few notes to start, this does take place during the Marvel cinematic timeline, so it begins in 2012, and will be MAJOR AU. So expect some of your favorites to have some big changes.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy!**_

 **Chapter 1**

Harry flipped the tent flap open and stepped outside, Hermione's wand in hand. His best friend was close on his heels. Whatever that sound had been, a loud crash, it had set them into motion. A kind of high pitched whining followed by a loud thump had pounded through the air as they moved further into the cool darkness of the night. Fear that they had been discovered was never far from their minds.

Fear had become an ever present state for the pair over the last few months. They had been on the run constantly since the event at the home of their one time companion, Ron. His brother's wedding had been attacked, just after the ceremony, by the followers of the madman known as Lord Voldemort.

They had been after Harry who had been plagued by the man's obsession to kill him for his entire life. With the added chance to rampage through the wedding and kill as many attendees as he could, the sociopathic lunatic Tom Riddle, or as he had come to be known Lord Voldemort, had jumped at the opportunity. The three friends of almost six years, had managed, somehow, to find each other and escape in the confusion. Since that day they had hoped many of the others had escaped as well but information was hard to come by in the time following the attack, as they had to avoid any area populated by anyone magical.

So they ran. Always on the move, trying to complete the final mission left to Harry by their headmaster Albus Dumbledore, before his passing near the end of the last school year, murdered by another professor as Harry watched.

They had crisscrossed the country searching for the objects Dumbledore had sent them out to find. After months of searching they had found one, and obtained it at great risk, only to be pursued all the more in the wake of it.

Weeks later Ron couldn't take any more and had abandoned them. He had been frustrated by a lack of progress, lack of food, and their inability to rid themselves of the damn thing they needed to destroy. They had tried to reason with him but in the end, failed. After he had disappeared into the night they realized they could not just wait around for him to come to his senses and return. The chances of them, or him, being captured put too much at stake. So they moved on.

They had settled here, deep in the forest, with every precaution they could think of and use in place. Both of them were exhausted and Harry had been injured during the encounter in Godric's Hollow, with no real chance to recover afterwards because of several close escapes in the winter and early spring. What funds they had were low, enough so they were forced to limit their meager purchases to the barest minimum for them to survive, and scrounge for scraps when possible instead.

Tonight they had not been so lucky. A storm had blown in during the afternoon, cold pelting rain keeping them inside the tent. It had intensified as the day passed till the moment it suddenly stopped, as if someone had flipped off a switch.

A few short minutes later the sound had come. First there was a bang followed shortly by some kind of a whine that ramped up in pitch, then a loud thump, that they could feel physically as it smashed through the air. It had caught them both off guard as neither of them had heard anything like it before. They were both in motion in a flash, and headed out the tent flap.

The sight that greeted them was awe inspiring. A blond man was shrouded in crackling electricity that was lancing down from the heavens, then with a sudden motion his arm was outstretched and the accumulated power arced across the forest toward a another figure that was digging its way out from under a mass of shattered trees.

The figure he had targeted continued to stumble to its feet under the massive electrical assault arcing around him then light flared in the figure's hands as the lightning subsided. The whine returned, as blasts of energy pierced the darkness to collide with the blond man, flinging him deeper into the forest beyond them.

At that point the fight truly began, as the second figure shot past giving them a glimpse of gleaming gold and crimson as he went, flying on pillars of fire that were somehow expelled from his feet.

The pair had seen many amazing things in their short lives; when you live in an ancient haunted castle studying magic nine months a year the unexpected becomes somewhat common place. This however was something entirely different. They watched stunned, as the fight continued into the air, high into the trees, then down. Flashes of light from the second person allowed them to follow the fight's progress, as it made a complete circle around them, till the pair was standing face to face in the small clearing nearby once more.

A third person then made his presence known. Harry's eyes had locked onto his movement almost immediately, as a object sailed out of the darkness, allowing just a moment to look at the man that had thrown it. It was hard to tell from this angle, but he thought the man was tall and carried an almost innate calmness and authority, as he walked up the trunk of a tree that had been felled at its mid point during the combat.

A pair of 'clang's were heard in short order bringing Harry's eyes back to the pair on the ground, and to the object which had somehow rebounded and was headed back toward the third man who yelled, "Hey! That's enough!" Then he jumped from the trunk of the tree, twenty plus feet to the ground, landing easily and walking forward as if it were an everyday occurrence! "I don't know what you plan on doing here, but-"

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" bellowed the blond man, who had stepped further out of the shadows, allowing Harry and Hermione to get a better look at him. He was dressed in some form of blue and silver armor with a red cloak draping over his massive shoulders, a large hammer resting easily in his right hand.

"Then prove it!" said the third man still walking forward, adjusting the shield that he had caught effortlessly during his jump and placed upon his right forearm. "Put that hammer down!"

"Uh… Yeah! No!" said the one dressed in the crimson and gold armor. They could now make out a glowing triangle in the center of his chest. "Bad call! He loves his hammer-"

A back handed blow of the hammer connected with the armored person, sending him flying back into the woods, as the blond man yelled, "You want me to put the hammer down?" He leapt forward, covering the long yards to the third person in one jump, the hammer pulling back, electricity arching around its head, to deliver the mightiest of blows as he descended from his leap.

Not liking the look of things, Harry began to move, instinctively placing the strongest shield charm he knew before himself and Hermione, to block the attack's effects. Light and sound smashed through the small clearing, shattering Harry's shield within the blink of an eye as the impact of the weapons crashed outward from the two men in lightning, magic, and sound.

Slowly three men rose from the rubble, each taking a long look at the destruction they had caused around them, the third man finally breaking the silence. "Are we done here?" he asked with no small amount of sadness, that pointless destruction like this could happen because of the two men's egos.

* * *

Tony looked around at the crushed landscape and sighed, Pepper was going to make him write a really big check for this mess, he just knew it. It was going to take a couple of minutes for Jarvis to check his suit's systems before he was ready to trust them completely. They had taken quite a jolt from Pointbreak's lightning, a 400% charge had been held by his armor's internal capacitors, something that it was in no way designed to handle no matter how briefly (he should look into that at a later date), and several readings were at below optimal output because of system wide damage that it caused.

Still he was impressed with the suit, if he did say so himself.

One by one subsystems began to come back online, till a warning started flashing in one corner of his vision, and the voice of Jarvis, the suit's artificial intelligence, spoke to him in its British butler's cadence. "Sir! I detect two people to your right, thirty-five yards, under a great deal of debris. Both are injured!"

A holographic overlay in red appeared inside his visor, of two figures underneath a pile of limbs obscuring them from vision. "Oh… hell," he said under his breath, "Nat! Land! We have two injured," he said over the radio to the jet that was now hovering above them just above tree top level.

Jarvis spoke again. "I am scanning both subjects, one is female, her injuries are extensive but not life threatening at the moment. She has several lacerations, a puncture wound, a probable concussion and one broken arm. The other is male, his wounds are more serious, he also has a number of lacerations, one severe puncture wound, a number of broken bones, as well as burns; he is in need of medical treatment as soon as possible."

Both of the other men allowed Tony to take the lead as he began clearing away the fallen limbs, and the jet settled into the newly widened clearing. The woman that had been piloting the craft was soon jogging down the back ramp, emergency medical bag in hand.

Tony slowly cut away the last branch with the small hand laser mounted in the back of his gauntlet; he nodded toward the unconscious teens. "That is the best I can do, I don't have any medical training… Jarvis, contact the Heli-carrier, have them get someone from their medical team to consult once we get them on board."

"Right away sir!" chimed the AI.

Steve knelt next to the male's body, setting his shield to the side. "I've had some medic training… but most of it is out of date."

Natasha sighed, as she dropped the bag and sat a small expandable light source next to her shining across the victims. "You'll be my nurse then, let's get them stabilized and to a hospital-"

The boy's eyes fluttered open and he groaned. "No…" he said weakly, "No hospitals… they'll find us… kill us. Kill everyone…" He swallowed, "to get to us… to me..." He tried to push away only to cry out in pain when he moved his impaled left shoulder. Blood began to gush from the wound.

"Ebat," the red headed woman cursed in Russian, as she tried to staunch the flow. "Don't move!"

Tony turned toward Thor. "We need to get your brother, Pointbreak… I want to be ready to go the second they are."

The blond nodded slowly. "Aye, man of Iron. The youths should not suffer for our mistakes any more than they have." With a swirl of a hammer and burst of jet fire they rose into the distance.

Steve kept handing things as Natasha asked for them, using the small penlight she had given him to read the labels quickly. In between he tried to keep the young man calm, awake and talking, "What's your name, son?"

"Harry…" he croaked. "Who?"

Steve smiled as he slipped off his cowl, hoping that a friendly face would help keep him calm. "Steve, it's nice to meet you Harry." Harry's eyes moved to the woman injecting something into his arm. "Her name is Natasha… Harry what is your friend's name?"

"Hermione…"

"Ok." He nodded. "How about last names?"

Harry shook his head. "No…" He gasped, "He'll find us! Can't…" He tried to move again and gasped in pain.

Natasha hissed, "Be still! I need more packing!"

Steve groused but nodded as he handed her more gauze packing. "Harry, we are going to help you. Is their anyone we can contact…"

"No…" he replied. "All in hiding or dead." He tried to push them away again.

"Steve… not now! I can barely control the bleeding as it is," she growled as she grabbed another injector and sank it into Harry's arm. "I hope that puts him out! I can't stop the bleeding if he keeps moving! And I can't take the chance of giving him more sedative, he's already had over ten grains more than I should have… He should have been unconscious by now!" She worked furiously for several minutes then sighed, wiping her brow. "I've done all I can for him at the moment. Steve I need the stretchers off the jet! Get them while I try to help the girl."

He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder as he ran toward the jet.

* * *

When they were on board Tony, sans armor, took over the piloting, leaving Natasha free to oversee the kids. Under the lights of the Quinjet the blood covering both of them made him wonder how they had even survived. The boy… Harry, Steve had called him… He had burns, some second some third degree… he had been the worst, he must have been standing in front… He'd taken the brunt of the blast. He didn't know how, but he needed to make this right…

"He's seizing!" yelled Natasha. "Doc? What do I do?"

Tony turned his attention back to his controls, trying to find a way to get more speed. He keyed the microphone. "Fury, I've got this thing redlined, I want you to have that trauma team ready! E.T.A. thirty-five minutes. If I can coax any more out of this thing I'll let you know."

The disembodied voice of Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division), came over his headset. "Stark! Why in the hell are you bringing two civilian kids to my ship? They could have already been in a trauma center! Hell they could have been in the best trauma center in Europe by now!"

Tony growled back, "Damn it Fury! You weren't there! That boy was willing to tear himself apart rather than go to a hospital!" His fingers ran across the controls, shutting down nonessential systems and rerouting power. He had designed this heap, he could sure as blazes figure out a way to make it go faster! "He was scared! He said everyone they knew were either dead or in hiding! Whatever these two are running from has them scared to death!"

"That is not our problem Stark!" The man on the other end of the radio responded. "We have enough on our plate dealing with whatever Loki is up to!"

"Just get them stabilized…" Stark said. "I'll make arrangements for them at Stark tower till this thing with Loki is over… Nick… this is our mess… my mess… I… _**I**_ need to help them."

The unseen man grumbled. "Fine! We'll get them stabilized then they are off my ship!"

The line went dead. "Jarvis! Contact Happy, we need medical suites for two set up at the tower… monitor their progress, and have him get whatever you think we need. Then have him contact the best doctors… Burns, trauma, neurologist… whatever…. Tell him I want them to have the best care."

"As you wish, sir," the voice answered.

* * *

In the rear of the Quinjet things were not going so well. While Natasha Romanov, otherwise known as the Black Widow, was very well trained and proficient at injuring the human body, she in fact had little training in the actual healing of said body, other than the standard S.H.I.E.L.D. medic training. Even with The Iron Man suit's AI helping with monitoring Harry and the doctor directing her they had almost lost him.

"How many units of plasma do you have?" the doctor asked.

She finished placing the last contact pad sensor as she answered, "One, and he's almost finished it…"

"Have you stopped all the bleeding?" he continued.

She nodded. "Everything I can find…"

The doctor looked over the readings he was receiving. "He'll need a transfusion… Do you know his blood type?"

"No, si-" she began.

"Sir," replied the AI, "Ms. Romanov matches his blood type, and Captain Rodgers is a universal donor…"

"Then Romanov first then…" he said. "Best match first… Captain I'll need you to monitor them and…"

Natasha looked panicked. "N-no… I can't…" She looked across the table at Steve then back at the screen. "We can't give him my blood… it's not safe…"

"Ms. Romanov." The doctor removed his glasses, and gave her a steady glare. "He needs a transfusion immediately, and according to Stark's computer you are the best match… The Captain may be a universal donor, but it is best if he has as much of his own type as possible…"

She looked down at the broken form of the boy in front of her, and her mind was made up. There was enough red in her ledger, she had to try no matter the cost. "Ok doctor, you've made your point." She began removing her gloves and weapons to gain access to the veins at her elbow.

* * *

Tony glanced at the clock as he lined the Quinjet up for the landing approach. He had cut almost five minutes off the flight time. The engines might need to be rebuilt, but it would be worth the cost.

Cycling through the landing procedures he brought the powerful jet in almost without a single bump. He slapped the ramp release and began the parking and shutdown cycle, then pushed away from the console in a hurry to see what was going on with the kids.

The scene inside the hold was chaotic, as the med team swarmed the jet and prepared to transport them inside. He stepped in front of his suit, the plates began to flex and slide across each other opening for him to enter. When the visor snapped closed and the display flared to life, he asked, "Jarvis, what's their status?"

"Sir, Mr. Harry has had a transfusion from both Ms. Romanov and Captain Rodgers… He is stable at the moment… as is Ms. Hermione. They will begin transport to Sick Bay in just a few moments."

He nodded to no one. "Alright let's get you to the vault, then I'll go talk to the doctor."


	2. Chapter 2

**Again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 2**

Hermione's eyes opened with a snap; confused by what she saw she began to look around slowly. Even in the dim light she could make out several things, an uncomfortable chair sitting next to a glass door, a telly, a tray table pushed up against the wall, bed rails… a hospital? Looking down at her arms, the left was in a cast, as for the right, she saw several clear tubes running from her elbow to a clear bag hanging above her head, a soft beep coming occasionally from the plastic box just below.

Why was she in a hospital?

"Harry!" she yelled, as she sat up, suddenly remembering what had happened in the forest. Pain, and a wave of nausea swept over her, she ended up gasping as she grasped the bed rail tightly.

A voice, that seemed to come from all around her, said calmly, "Ms. Hermione, your friend Harry is here as well, and is being tended to. I will summon the doctor, she will be here in a couple of minutes to speak with you. If you need anything just ask for me, my name is Jarvis, and I will see that it is taken care of immediately. Welcome to Stark Tower."

"T-thank you…" she said weakly. "Um- Jarvis?" Stark? She thought she had heard the name before, but she had never heard of Stark Tower.

"Yes Ms. Hermione?" the voice replied.

"Ho-How long have we been here?" she asked, afraid to know the answer. "And where is here, for that matter?"

What she had originally thought was a wall seemed to shimmer, a beautiful but unfamiliar skyline appearing. "It has been a little over three hours, from the time you were moved here from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mobile headquarters. As for where you are, this is Stark Tower, the new home of Stark International, New York City.

She stared out of the window, stunned. "New York City?" she mumbled. "Oh… Harry… How did we get here?"

She squinted as the lights in the room suddenly came to life, and a young brunette woman in a white lab coat entered carrying what looked like a clear piece of glass with blue writing on it. She tapped it a few times as Hermione watched her, amazed as the blue writing changed.

The woman looked up from the glass. "I'm Doctor Fleming." She glanced back down. "Can you tell me your name please?"

Hermione shifted nervously, not sure what to say. She went with the simplest answer. "H-Hermione…"

The doctor nodded, and after a few moments looked up at her and asked, "And your last name?"

The girl shook her head.

"You don't remember your last name?" she asked again.

"N-No… I mean… yes… I remember… but…" she stammered, finally letting her voice trail off.

The doctor looked aggravated. "Mr. Stark said you probably wouldn't say…" She tapped on the glass a few more times. "For the moment I guess Hermione will have to do."

The doctor turned toward the TV and slid her fingers across the sheet of glass harshly. The TV sprang to life showing an outline of a female form, red splotches peppered over it. "The red indicates your injuries. You've got a concussion and a broken arm..." She gestured to the largest splotches. "Those are the most serious of your injuries… she pointed to a couple of other places in turn. "You have six stitches here… just above your left ear... and another four here… and here… where a limb pushed through your right thigh… all the other cuts and abrasions were fairly minor… You were lucky… your friend…"

"Harry…" Hermione supplied, her mind running on automatic.

The woman nodded. "Harry…" She swiped her fingers again, and a male frame appeared. Where hers had splotches, his was almost completely covered. "He has several burns, on his upper body… a punctured lung, internal bleeding, both of his legs as well as his right arm are broken… and a concussion… among other things…. It's still touch and go with him… If he makes it through the next forty-eight hours then his prognosis is good, but it will be a long recovery."

She turned back to the girl. "I need to know… is there anyone I can contact? For either of you?"

The girl was in tears, as she shook her head. The doctor pulled the chair toward the bed and sat next to her. Looking at her right arm she said, "I think we can do away with the IV." After pulling the needle loose and taking care of it, she turned back to her. "I don't mean to sound cold… but if someone is out there… family…"

She shook her head again, "I wouldn't know where to even begin looking for them…" she said sobbing, "But I doubt they would care… W-we're all each other has got left…" Tears streamed down the girls face. "C-can I see him? Please?"

The doctor studied her for a moment, then sighed. "If I do this, I don't want you out of this bed till I say different, understand?" The girl nodded. "Jarvis?"

"Yes Doctor?" the voice replied.

"Please allow Hermione to see my other patient," she said.

The wall beyond the end of her bed shimmered and became clear. A person lay in the next room, wrapped in bandages; the only thing she thought she recognized was his mop of black hair.

"Oh… Harry!" she cried, as sobs wracked her body again. "Why is it always you?"

The woman beside her asked, in a quiet voice. "Has he been hurt seriously before?" hoping for any tidbit of information that may help with any of a multitude of questions she had about the young man in the other room.

"It seems like he spent more time in the Hospital Wing at school than he did in his own bed sometimes…" she replied, without thinking. "He never seems to be able to keep out of trouble…"

"So he's a trouble maker?" she asked.

Hermione chuckled lightly. "He sees more than his fair share… But he rarely goes looking for it."

The doctor laid a hand on the girl's, pulling her attention away from the sight in front of her. "Hermione… Harry's blood tests… He doesn't take any medication… or drugs?"

Hermione's head tilted to the side slightly, a look of confusion on her face. The doctor continued, "We've… We've found some things in his blood we can't explain… We know that he has had a couple of transfusions before he arrived… But S.H.I.E.L.D. is… well… they won't give us any information on the donors… and some of the things we have found don't make any sense…"

Hermione's mind was racing; any potions they would have taken would have been out of their systems months ago… She shook her head. "No… He…We haven't taken any thing… Not that I know of…"

The doctor smiled. "Your results came back normal, a little low on iron, but normal… Are you sure you don't know of anything your friend may have taken?"

"No… and we've been together almost every moment for the last couple of months…" she said.

The doctor's brow furrowed. "Alright, but if you think of anything please let us know," she said as she began to stand, returning the chair to its spot next to the door. "You try to get some rest. Ask Jarvis if you need anything."

As the woman was stepping out Hermione asked, "Our things? Did they bring any of our things?"

The woman nodded, moving toward the counter. "Most of your clothes were ruined, but any personal effects are in here," she said picking up a plastic bag and placing it on the tray table. She pushed it next to the bed and began opening the bag. "Was there something in particular you were looking for?"

The girl shook her head. "I just wanted to know… Can you leave it there? I'll go through after I rest a little."

The woman smiled at her. "Sure…" She pushed it within arm's reach. "Try to get some sleep," she said walking out of the room.

As soon as the click of the woman's heels had faded away Hermione grabbed the bag and dumped the contents onto the bed.

The first thing she saw, and grabbed, was her beaded handbag. She clutched it tightly to her chest, if nothing else they had this! She sighed deeply, thanking Merlin that it hadn't been lost and that she had taken to wearing the small bag constantly, just like Harry did his mokeskin bag on which hers was based. What they had stashed inside the unassuming purple bag, that she had enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, may just save their lives.

She dug her way through the remainder of the things, most of it useless at the moment, though she hung Harry's bag around her neck just in case, saddened her wand was missing. She sighed, 'nothing for it' she thought as she began to fumble with her beaded bag.

* * *

Jarvis was one of Tony Stark's crowning achievements, one part man servant, one part guard, one part friend and one part lab assistant, and had saved the man's life on more than a few occasions. While not a true artificial intelligence, he was highly adaptable and as close as any program had yet come to achieving that feat.

Jarvis watched as the young woman began digging through the objects she had dumped out onto the bed, his logic routine faltered as she opened the small bag and her arm disappeared into it up to her elbow.

In a separate area of his consciousness, a reconstruction of the object began. A wire frame of the small bag assembled itself out of the ether; dimensions began to flash past as each section's size was confirmed. The accrual volume inside of the bag appeared next to the bag frame, .25 cubic feet. A wire frame of her arm appeared next, measurements fluttering by at incredible speed. A red outline surrounded each.

What he had observed was impossible.

Even as he re-ran the simulation for the tenth time, Hermione had not yet removed her arm from the bag. Allocating a number of the additional scanners inside the tower to monitor her further he continued to observe, and record her movements.

Hermione sighed as she withdrew the wand they had taken from Bathilda Bagshot's home after the encounter with Nagini, as it had turned out Voldemort's familiar had been spelled and taken the old lady's place in an attempt to kill Harry. Harry had insisted that they may need it after his own wand had been broken in the struggle, leaving them with only her wand between them. Looking at it she sighed again; it had never worked well for either of them but at the moment she couldn't complain, at least it was something.

Digging into the bag again she pulled out a small vial, holding it up to the light to check the contents. Essence of Dittany… She watched as the small bubble denoting the level left in the vial moved as she shook her hand. 'Not much left…' she thought. 'I need to see to Harry first, once he's out of danger I'll get us out of here… somehow.'

Slowly she picked up the other items on the bed and put them back into the plastic bag, then gathered it and the beaded bag, hooking them on the arm covered with a cast, and slid forward, hissing with pain as she moved her injured leg. Ignoring it, she continued till her bare feet touched the floor.

With her wand leading the way she moved to the door.

Jarvis debated alerting Doctor Fleming, but her actions intrigued the AI and he allowed her to continue.


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 3**

She checked the hallway carefully in each direction. She could hear voices from someplace further down the hallway, as she stepped carefully to the doorway of what she believed to be Harry's room. Opening it gently, she stepped inside and pointed the wand at the door. " _Colloportus!_ " she said clearly, and a squelching sound sounded from the door. She almost turned away, but thought better of it. She pointed the wand again and said, " _Duro!_ " She panted slightly; casting was more difficult with this wand, but still possible.

Jarvis looked over the strange readings coming from the sensors, she had emitted some form of energy from what seemed, from any of his cameras or readings, to be a normal piece of carved wood. What that energy was doing was unknown, but the same readings were now coming from the door as well. When she turned toward the other person in the room and moved toward him Jarvis thought it best to alert the doctor.

She hobbled painfully to the side of her best friend. "Oh… Harry…" Tears formed at the sides of her eyes. She rolled back the sheet covering his chest and began to work. Carefully pulling the bandages loose then using the wand to vanish the stitches, she poured a few drops of the Dittany into the now open wound, and watched as it closed.

The doctor watched the monitor in amazement as the girl wiped the now wound-free area with the bandages and threw them in the trash. "That was just moments ago Doctor. She is now working on some of his burns. Do you wish me to switch to a live feed?"

"Yes… Please…" she said in a shaking voice. "How… How are his vitals?"

"Improving, his breathing is less labored. Should I have her stopped?"

"No…" the woman said softly. "No… just keep a record of it all. If she can help him let her… I'll try and talk to her when she's done… and I'd like to get a sample of what is in that vial…"

Hermione wiped her brow; it had taken a lot out of her using magic to roll Harry up on his side to get to the wounds on his back. This was going to have to be the last one; she only had a little bit left. Carefully she placed a few drops in the puncture. He almost seemed to relax somehow, as it closed.

Rolling him back down, she sat on the edge of his bed looking at the readings on his monitor. His heart rate was lower, steady, as was his breathing. She looked at his face and decided it wasn't as pinched. Hopefully she had helped him.

She leaned over him. "Harry?" She ran her hand through his hair. "Harry? Can you hear me?"

The doctor's voice filled the room. "Please let him rest, and do not remove the oxygen mask. While I applaud your actions, as well as your results, you must understand he is under heavy sedation at the moment due to his injuries. Even if you had stopped his IV when you started it would be some time before he woke."

Hermione spun toward the door, wand pointed; outside she saw a pair of men dressed in security uniforms. Jarvis's voice continued. "Please place all of the objects you are holding on the ground in front of you. You will then be escorted back to your room; you will not be harmed in any way."

Hermione's mind raced. They had been watching? She had been so stupid! Now what was she going to do? She couldn't leave Harry! Her mind whirled trying to think of a way out. Finally, her shoulders sagged, slowly she sat on the floor and placed the wand and bag on the floor pushing them out of reach with her good leg.

She almost chuckled as the two guards jiggled the door handle, trying to get in.

Jarvis's voice returned. "If you would be so kind as to undo what you did to the door?" it requested.

"I want to stay with Harry…" she said her voice shaking. "If I let them in can I stay, in this room with him?"

The doctor's voice answered a few moments later. "I will permit it… after I have checked him over, I'll have your bed moved into his room. Till then I'll have Jarvis leave the wall between the rooms clear. After I'm finished and you've been moved, I will give you a mild sedative to help you sleep."

Hermione glanced up at her best friend, then nodded slowly. Sliding toward the wand, she picked it up and pointed it toward the door. " _Finite_!"

The door opened with a click and the two men stepped inside. They watched her closely as she placed the wand back on the floor carefully, before helping her to stand and move back toward the door way.

* * *

They met the doctor in the hallway. "What was in the vial?" she asked.

"…medicine..." Hermione said softly.

"Is that something that we found in his blood?" she asked.

The girl shook her head. "No… a-at least I don't think so… The last time we had to use it was… Christmas Eve…" she said slowly. "That was several months ago so I doubt any was still in his system… He was bitten… by a snake…" Tears were rolling down her eyes.

"Poisonous?" the doctor asked.

She nodded. "Very… I don't know what species exactly… it was someone's… pet."

"So, that stuff can neutralize poisons as well?" the woman questioned.

"Some… if it is used quickly enough," Hermione answered.

"Does it have a name?" she asked.

Hermione sighed; she might as well tell her, the Statute of Secrecy about magic was already blown all to hell. "Essence of Dittany."

"And where did you get it?" she asked.

"Where?" She shrugged, in for a knut… "I nicked it from our hospital wing at school last year."

"Would they have more?' Her eyes bored into the young girl. "Why haven't we heard about something like this!"

The girl shook her head again, tears streaming down her face. "Please check on Harry… I'll answer what questions I can… but can you please check on him first?"

The aggravated woman stormed past her into the room, talking as she went. "Jarvis, I want whatever is left in that vial analyzed! Who knows what else it could be used for!"

"I'll have someone collect it, along with everything else as soon as Mr. Stark returns and authorizes it Doctor."

* * *

True to her word, the doctor had moved Hermione's bed into the room with Harry. What she hadn't told the young witch was that she was going to confiscate everything of theirs, right down to Harry's glasses (not that he needed them, he had yet to wake up).

She had also placed a pair of guards just outside the main room. Sighing Hermione waved at the guard on the left whose turn it was to look in and verify both of them were still snug in their own beds. It was like clockwork every ten minutes.

She didn't even have a book to read.

Her head snapped up when the building's lights dimmed, only to see the same look of confusion on both of the guards' faces, though moments later they returned to normal.

She shrugged internally and lay back down, deciding it was nothing. The steady click of the guards' shoes running down the hallway suddenly had her thinking she may be wrong. "Mr. Jarvis?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I am unsure at the present time miss, but it seems there is an intruder within Mr. Stark's private receiving area, and something is disrupting my communications outside the building." said the voice. "I am working on the disruption and attempting to reestablish contact with Mr. Stark as we speak."

That didn't sound good, could the Deatheaters have found them? Or was it the American version of the Ministry of Magic here because she had broken the Statute? "Jarvis, where is the wand I had earlier, without it Harry and I are defenseless!"

When she didn't receive an answer she started sliding toward the edge of the bed, glad that the doctor had given her a sweatshirt and pants when she asked if she could change out of that horrible hospital gown.

She felt the chill of the tile floor with every step she took, wishing she had a pair of shoes as she made her way toward the hallway. If it was either the Deatheaters or the Ministry the best she could do was lead them away from Harry, at least then he would have a chance.

Staying close to the wall she made her way in the direction the doctor had gone after she had left the room. She was within a few steps of what appeared to be another hallway when she felt the building tremble and a wave of… something pass over her. She looked down at the tips of her fingers, and flexed the fingers of her right hand, they tingled a little.

She peeked around the corner into what seemed to be some form of sitting room. On the far side standing in front of what looked to be a telly, was the doctor and another woman dressed in a pencil skirt and cream colored blouse, both almost transfixed by what they were seeing.

Hermione wanted to jump for joy when she spotted some of their things lying on the counter. Moving forward quietly, she picked up the wand trying to not make a sound. Two quick stunning spells later, the women were unconscious on the floor.

Only then did she take time to look over what of their things were here, She tucked the bag into the sling for her cast, deciding against using Harry's invisibility cloak herself, best no one know about that just in case, and slipping Harry's glasses next to the bag freeing up her hand in case she needed to use the wand. Padding back the way she had come she went back into Harry's room.

Once inside she went to his bedside and pushed the beaded bag and mokeskin bag deep into the crook of his arm, where he would be sure to find it if he woke before she could make it back. Then she placed his glasses on the small table next to the bed on top of a hastily scribbled note saying she would be back as soon as she could.

Making her way back down the hallway she knew that she needed to do something about the two women. " _Incarcerous_ " she pronounced twice in quick succession, wrapping each woman in ropes in turn. Spotting the vial of dittany still in the doctor's hand she grabbed it and slid it in with her cast, as she used a spell to pull the pair of women next to the wall out of view.

Panting slightly and wishing for her own wand, she set off down the hall.

Peeking around the next corner she could see a pair of large glass doors and clear blue sky beyond; picking up her pace she closed on the door quickly. Looking around inside she saw what looked to be a well-appointed modern styled apartment. Glass covered one wall, the rest of the room was done in dark woods and grey stone with highlights in gold and crimson.

Pushing the door open, she stepped cautiously inside.

She had only managed to move a few feet when one of the windows exploded inward and two figures tumbled across the floor. She watched in horror as the smaller man, wearing green leather armor along with gold greaves and plates, stumbled to his feet, as the gargantuan mountain of green that had its back to her did likewise while letting loose a mighty roar and pounding its huge fists on the floor, shaking the room and forcing her to her knees.

"Enough!" the smaller man yelled, rearing his arm back. "You are, all of you beneath me! I am a god you dull Creature! And I will not be bullied by the likes of you!" He flung his arm forward releasing a bolt of green energy.

Harry had tried to explain to her once how he was able to spot, and keep track of the snitch during the games of Quidditch at Hogwarts. He had said that it felt as if time slowed down, and it all became clear… somehow.

Not that _that_ was much of an explanation.

However now Hermione believed she understood what he had meant. She watched in almost morbid fascination as the green bolt left the man's hand. It was a color she recognized well, the sickly green of the _Avada Kedavra_! The Killing Curse! And this man had cast it without a wand!

She watched as it bubbled and churned, ripping a path through the air toward the emerald giant. She felt the beginnings of a scream, someplace low in her throat, as the monster dipped its shoulder allowing the bolt to connect with its upper back as it did.

A ripple of energy passed over the creature, cascading over its form almost too quick to be observed, only to rebound back the way it had come and erupt out of the same point.

Her scream rose in pitch as she saw the beam coming toward her, but instead of the sickly green it had been it was a vibrant pulsing emerald. Lifting her broken arm, as a last ditch defense heard smashing glass then she felt the energy, like the stings of a thousand bees covering her body.

Then the darkness came.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 4**

Harry tried to listen to the argument that was going on outside his room; he couldn't make out much other than a few key words including his and Hermione's names.

He huffed, slamming his good fist down on the tray table hard enough that a small split formed in the wood and his hand sting. "Damn it!" he yelled in irritation. It had been almost two days since he had first woken in this infernal room! Two days of almost constant worry about Hermione, and no real answers!

Other than his worry for Hermione, he had spent most of the first day in shock, (most likely like many others in the city), watching the almost constant reruns of the attack that had taken place in New York, an attack by an alien race…

He smirked, a tiny chuckle escaping him. 'Then again, why shouldn't aliens exist? Wasn't he a wand carrying wizard? Didn't he just meet a man that flew around in an armored suit painted red and gold? Hadn't he met a god?' he thought, as his head flopped back against the pillow behind him.

From what he had been told, Hermione's injuries had not been as serious as his… but she had been hurt again during the attack. When she had been found, just minutes after the battle had ended, she was unconscious. No new injuries had been found, but as of the last time anyone had been in she was still the same, unresponsive.

A light knock drew his attention to the door and a tall blond man smiled at him as he came in. "Hi Harry," said the man, as he stepped inside.

"Well?" Harry asked anxiously.

Steve shook his head. "Sorry… She's the same…" he said walking back to the chair he had been occupying before he went to talk to Tony when Harry had spotted the man in the hallway. He sighed as he sat. "He's got a couple of specialist on their way… he had to fly them in… everyone local is…" He waved toward the muted television showing the devastation in the city streets below. "He's doing everything he can Harry, the invasion is going to keep everything disrupted for quite a while…"

Tears ran down the boy's face. "I can't lose her too…" he said quietly.

Steve sat forward, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. "They're doing all that they can for her…" he began.

Harry shrugged Steve's hand off his shoulder. "You don't understand… s-she's all I have left… I've lost everything… My parents, my godfather, my school, my friends… She's the only thing that has kept me together…" Tears rolled down his face as he spoke.

Steve sat quietly, as the young man cried. Whatever these two had been through had been horrible. According to the doctor, both were suffering from borderline malnutrition, and showed signs of starvation. Harry more so than Hermione so she suspected that he had been giving her the lion's share of what they had, she had most likely never known.

Though, if the way Harry was eating now was any indication he would be back up to weight in no time. Steve had been stunned when he saw what the kid had put away at lunch only to say something in passing two hours later about being hungry.

"Harry," Steve said quietly when the young man had gathered himself and wiped his eyes. "We want to help… but we need to know what happened? Who were you running from?"

Harry shook his head. "I-I can't… I'm sorry… but I can't…"

Steve sighed, and turned toward the T.V. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Captain Rodgers?" Harry looked up at the man sitting next to him in confusion, 'Captain Rodgers?' he thought, as the disembodied voice spoke.

"Can you put the film of Hermione I saw earlier up on the Television?" he asked.

"One moment please." The screen flickered and the silent news cast disappeared.

Harry watched, a small smile creeping across his face as he saw his best friend sitting on the bed speaking with the doctor. "This was not long after you arrived," said Steve as the doctor left the room.

Harry's eyes widened as he watched her arm disappear into her bag, his breath hitched as she rummaged around inside of it withdrawing items and setting them on the bed. He glanced over at the man sitting with his arms crossed, watching the screen closely. When he looked back, Hermione had made her way into his room. He watched as she locked and reinforced the door with magic, and limped to his bedside to treat his wounds with Essence of Dittany.

Steve watched the teen out of the corner of his eye as the film played, sweat had appeared on his face and his breaths came much quicker. What he was seeing was scaring him for some reason; he didn't look like the actual acts were the cause rather the fact that she had been caught while doing them.

As it ended, Steve turned to face Harry. "If _that_ is what you are trying to hide, I think it is too late."

Harry didn't know what to do, Hermione had broken the secrecy statute and been caught on film! Merlin, what a mess they had gotten themselves into! Hermione must have been scared senseless to have done something like that! He unconsciously rubbed the spot he had seen her heal on his chest.

"Ho-how badly…" Harry's voice trailed off, it was as if his voice didn't want to ask the question.

Shrugging, Steve answered, "Bad. The Doctor didn't know if you would survive, and if you did she didn't know how long your recovery would be."

Harry's head sagged. "Maybe it would have been for the best…" he said weakly.

Steve was startled by what he had heard, this kid was a fighter, a survivor. He had seen it with his own eyes, how hard he had fought to not only live, but to make sure Hermione did as well. "Harry, you can't let yourself think like that, and I doubt Hermione would want that either!" Harry turned his face away. "Harry, the more we know the better we can help."

Steve sat quietly and let him think it through. Finally he spoke. "If I say something… even if I somehow survive… We would both spend the rest of our lives in prison… Probably for the rest of our lives…"

Steve's eyes widened, he thought they would be imprisoned for even talking about it? Who exactly were these people? "Harry these people, they know how to keep it a secret, if that is the way you want it."

Minutes seemed to pass at a snail's pace as he waited; finally Harry spoke. "Magic…" he said softly, "Magic… is how she did those things."

Magic? Steve's mind whirled at the thought, as Harry continued. "I-I don't know how things are here… but at home, our people are at war. A war hidden from muggles… non magical people. Our people have kept themselves hidden for centuries… but the effects of the war… that bridge that collapsed in London last year…that was… _**him**_ …" he said with a growl.

Steve looked at him in shock. He had seen footage of the bridge on the news, with lots of talking about its one year anniversary, as he was moving into his new apartment. "But they said that was a freak storm!"

Harry shook his head. "No. That was the story our government came up with. It was Deatheaters, and giants. _He_ ordered it…" His voice trailed off.

"Who, is _he_?" Steve asked.

"I can't tell you the name he uses now… he's using a spell that lets him monitor its use, then he sends his people after you, but his real name is Tom, Tom Riddle. He took over our government late last year…" Tears streamed down his face. "According to some seer I'm supposed to have some power that will let me vanquish him." He chuckled. "I still have no idea what that is supposed to be… My Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, said it was love… how is that even supposed to work?"

* * *

Steve stepped out of the room when Harry's dinner arrived, both to give him a break from the questioning, allowing him to eat in peace, as well as allowing Steve to check on Hermione again. He walked back to Tony's apartment and into the midst of an argument.

"It's just not possible!" said Tony, waving his arms in the air. "How in the hell could they have stayed hidden so long? I mean, you can hardly turn around in that country without stepping in front of a camera! It would be especially difficult with a population as dense as it is there!"

Pepper shook her head. "But you saw what his friend Hermione could do. Maybe they have people in the government, or ways to bypass everything to stay hidden?"

Natasha was watching the footage again on a separate screen. "She seems… genuinely surprised by your surveillance. Then terrified by it…" She turned away from the screen, toward the others. "She didn't have much of a reaction to Tony's name either; I saw some recognition but not enough considering how often his name is in the news… I think someone needs to go back to the forest we found them in, maybe there is something there. We didn't look around very well; we were more concerned with their wounds."

Tony sighed. "I could get there the fastest, but I don't think I'm the best choice. I'm not much of a detective."

Steve snorted. "How about that? Something Stark will admit he's not the best at… How will his ego cope?"

Stark scowled at the blond headed man, then looked at Pepper. "Why aren't you defending me from him? Aren't you supposed to run interference for me? Keep me happy?"

Pepper scowled right back. "Why would I defend you? And I only run interference for you from the board!" She stalked closer, finger wagging as she did. "As for keeping you happy!" She grabbed him by the front of his sweatshirt and pulled him forward into a kiss. "Better?" she asked, pushing him away.

"Much!" he said, with a goofy little grin.

Natasha shook her head at the display. "I'll go, I still have at least a few days before Fury will want me back in the field. I'll need transportation though, unless you want to explain this to him."

Tony shook his head. "No, I think we need more information before we involve S.H.I.E.L.D. Jarvis? What do we have that she can use?"

Almost immediately the AI's voice answered. "The Quinjet you are planning to refit the engines of is operational, the analysis showed no major damage, I can have it prepared for an _evaluation_ flight by the time Ms. Romanov has arrived at the airfield."

"Well, that was easy," he said, as the red headed woman nodded and made her way toward the doorway. "Cap, give the kid back the stick, when I'm done setting up a few more instruments, give me about an hour. I want him to show you some of his 'magic' while I get some readings. Dr. Banner would you care to join me?

The quiet man answered as he stopped idly chewing on his glasses earpiece and stood, "I believe I will. This is quite fascinating."

After both of the scientists had exited, Pepper turned toward the only person remaining. "Steve, what do you think of all this?"

The man sighed as he sat at the table and watched the video loop again. "I don't know…

Nat doesn't think either one of them is lying, and we've seen what she can do…"

Pepper sat next to him, shoulders slumped. "Tony wants to run more tests on them, especially Harry. I think I've talked him into just doing it passively for the moment… Do you think what they are doing is really magic?"

"There were rumors during the war... about magic," he said his eyes showing a deep sadness. "Peggy… told me about a file she had seen at S.S.R. - that's Strategic Scientific Reserve." Pepper placed a hand on his as he continued. "She thought it was what led the Red Skull and Hydra to look for the Tesseract. It was one of the magical legends they researched, one of thousands from around the world. Evidently it was one of a small group that showed promise. So much so that Hydra took notice of it… If any others were true…"

Pepper felt sick inside. "Then we need all the information we can find."

* * *

Harry felt useless, stuck in a hospital bed, but in this case it was much worse because there was no way he was going to be getting around on his own in the foreseeable future. There was no Madam Pomfrey to take care of his broken legs, no Skele Gro or other potions to take, not even a wand to heal the breaks by way of a spell, and worst of all no Hermione to come up with a new plan.

He lay there listening to the quiet beeps of the machinery, thinking about how it had come to this. Maybe if he had just done what the Dursleys had wanted, told Hagrid to go away… gone to the school Aunt Petunia had chosen, St… something. Everything would have been better for everyone…

He was pulled from his thoughts when Steve opened the door and stepped inside. He shook his head, killing Harry's question before his voice ever formed it. Steve sat in the chair for a while, in an uneasy silence. After a time he reached into his jacket and withdrew the wand Hermione had been using. Harry's eyes widened.

"Harry, I want to see what you can do… personally, with my own eyes. Can you do something?" he asked handing the wand to him.

"You need to understand… this isn't my wand, it's not Hermione's either," he said softly as he took it from Steve's hand. "Mine was broken on Christmas eve by _his_ familiar, a giant snake he calls Nagini. I don't know what happened to Hermione's, we were both using it before we ran into you, this one doesn't work well for either of us. It takes more… power, and concentration to use… at least for us. This is a wand we… found, and decided to use as an emergency backup."

Steve had no reason to doubt him so he gestured for him to continue.

Harry sighed. "I'll try something small." He looked around the room. "Levitating that cup." He pointed at Steve's coffee cup from that morning. " _Wingardium Leviosa_!" he said giving the wand a swish and a flick.

Slowly the cup began to rise, just an inch or two, but rise it did. After about thirty seconds Harry ended the spell, and the cup clattered back to the counter. When Steve pulled his eyes away from the stunning sight, he looked at Harry, who had a deep scowl on his face.

Harry inspected the wand carefully. "I expected it to be hard, but that was worse than I thought. I guess this wand just isn't compatible with my magic."

"So a wand must be made to fit your magic?" Steve asked.

Harry chuckled slightly. "Sort of… the man I bought my wand from when I started school, said, 'the wand chooses the wizard'. He had hundreds of wands, possibly thousands of them, in boxes lining his store. I spent a long time trying wand after wand that he chose from the stacks for me to try before finding mine. How he decided what to look for I don't have a clue, but he said that he could remember every wand he ever sold, and to who."

"If you kept practicing with that wand would it get any easier?" he asked.

Harry laid the wand aside. "No… I don't think so, I know you can cast wandlessly… but that takes years of practice. My Headmaster could do a few spells, but they were not nearly as powerful as they would have been if had used his wand."

Steve pondered that for a moment. "Harry what was your wand made of?"

Harry looked wistful for a moment. "Holly, its core was a phoenix feather. I still have the pieces…. Hermione made sure to gather all of it up. Keep it in my Mokeskin bag."

Steve looked stunned. "A phoenix… ? They're real?"

Harry nodded. "My Headmaster, he had one… I think it was his familiar. Its name was Fawkes, she was beautiful. Her feathers looked like spun gold, with a slight red coloring at the tip… it was different on her burning day though… I saw her on her burning day once… she had just come through her rebirth cycle, she was a little featherless chick sitting in a pile of smoldering ashes… her feather was used as the core of my wand… only the second one she had ever given…" He realized he had been rambling, and his voice trailed off.

"Is there a way to fix your wand?" Steve wondered.

"I don't know… I doubt it. I'll need to find a way to get another one…" he said, voice filled with dejection.

Steve didn't know if it would help Harry's situation, but Tony may be able to learn something from that wand. "Harry you said you had the pieces?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, they are in the small pouch, the one with the long leather strap. You won't be able to open it though, they can only be opened by the owner."

Steve nodded. "If you're ok with it, I'd like my friend Tony to look at it. Is that ok? He'll keep it a secret, I promise. He's a scientist, and wants to try to understand how your magic works."

Harry looked down at his hands, "I-I don't think that is a good idea… I-I…" He took a deep breath and blew it out. "It was the first thing I ever really owned… I'd like to keep the pieces…"

Steve smiled, "How about I get him to promise to be extra careful? You'll get it back exactly like it is. If it isn't he'll answerer to me. Deal?"

Harry sat there still for a long time before agreeing. All the while praying he was doing the right thing, and not putting them all at risk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 5**

Tony rubbed his eyes as he waved his hand in front of him, swiping the edge of the image before him causing it to rotate slowly. It was a 3D image of Harry's broken wand, two pieces of wood, Holly, held together by what looked like a tightly spun cord made of gold.

He really wanted to do more than use these passive scans, but when Steve had explained how important the wand was to Harry he had agreed not to follow his first impulse and dissect the wand physically.

"Jarvis, are you done with the spectrographic analysis?" he asked absently.

"Yes sir, and that was the last of the tests you requested. Should I wake Dr. Banner? He wished to view them as well," the AI replied.

Tony pondered it for a moment; he could use the man's help... He shook his head. "No, let him sleep. As much as I'm a fan of the green guy, it's not his help we need now. Besides I think it is best if we each approach this with our own, different perspectives at the beginning. Set a timer from when he starts working for forty-eight hours, then we'll meet and compare what we have found out… With all the damage in the city I doubt anyone will be in to work, but just in case, text them they'll be closed for the week, and set him up a file system and put him in Wonderland; if he needs anything that they don't have get it for him."

"As you wish sir," the AI said, already making sure the large group of laboratories, known by those that worked in the building as Wonderland, were prepared.

Tony adjusted his chair, scrubbed his scalp vigorously, and sat up straight. Clapping his hands hard in front of him, he said. "Hit me!" Information flew into view in the air all around him, page after page of analysis. His fingers danced in the air around him sifting through it at a speed that would stagger the best of minds.

* * *

"Dr. Fleming, you wanted to see me?" said the broad shouldered, blond man as he stepped into the room the doctor had procured to use as her office while her patients were in Stark Tower.

"Mr. Rodgers, please sit," she said turning toward the screen on the wall. As her fingers slid across the face of her tablet, images began to cover the screen. "It is about Harry. His caloric intake in the last twenty four hours has now gone from very high, something I attributed to his apparent situation before arriving here and whatever the girl had given him, to more than a little alarming."

She swiped her fingers over the tablet again. "My standing orders have been that if he was hungry he was to be allowed to eat whatever he wished, as long it met certain dietary parameters, none of which monitored calories. Today however, my attention was drawn to the fact that an inordinate number of food requests have been received from him."

Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What was it with doctors? Why did they need to say the simplest of things in such a complicated way? "So… He's eating a lot?"

The doctor turned back to him, with a scowl on her face. "Not just a lot! A ridiculous amount! He ate an _ENTIRE_ pizza last night!"

Steve shrugged, he had done that once, over the course of a long evening catching up on some newsreels… he'd had awful dreams afterword. "Ok, that _is_ overdoing it…"

She cut him off. "You don't understand! In less than two hours he said he was hungry again and this time wanted Shepherd's pie! And he didn't just eat a piece, in the course of an hour he ate the whole damn thing! In the last day he has eaten more than I could have ever expected! And he is still hungry!"

Steve sat there stunned. "Could it be because of his magic?"

The woman scowled at him. "I don't have a damn clue! I'd like you to try to talk with him."

Steve didn't look so sure about that idea, until the doctor explained. "Steve, you're the only one that he has formed any type of relationship with, he'll be more honest with you. I need to know if this is normal for one of them, if it is I need to figure out something for Hermione."

Steve nodded slowly and rose. "I'll go talk with him. If I can explain that you need to have the information for her sake, I don't think he'll even hesitate." He headed out the door and toward Harry's room.

* * *

Natasha walked down the ramp of the Quinjet and looked around at the destruction. 'The three of them could be such… children!' she thought making her way toward the epicenter of the shockwave where Thor's hammer had impacted Steve's shield.

'What a mess.' Sighing internally she began to look around.

It didn't take long for her to locate the spot where she and Steve had tended the kids. From there she worked the scene backward, first locating the group of trees Tony had cut them from then following the action and rebuilding the events in her mind while making notes on her tablet.

It might have been faster using Stark's scanning equipment, but this way she was not _just_ relying on said equipment. She would use her training and intuition first, looking for things out of place or that felt wrong, only then would she use the scanners to help with the recreation. She was nothing if not thorough.

After examining the stand of trees Tony had cut his way through to get to the teens, and finding a lot of dried blood, as well as what she suspected was Hermione's wand, she placed several evidence markers, equipped with a small RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Tag) chips. Then she moved on.

Nearby she found the remains of a tent, buried underneath yet another felled tree. Branches twisted through the torn canvas. In the area she found bits of furniture, some bedding and books.

Resigned to a long day she began placing more evidence markers.

* * *

Harry stared at the tablet Tony had left with him and even as he reached for it his stomach rumbled. "Merlin!" he muttered under his breath, he was hungry again! What was wrong with him? He was eating like Ron at a feast at Hogwarts! Only this had been going on for a lot longer than that ever had.

He slid his finger over the item he chose, the way he had been shown and put the tablet back down. If the past was any indication it wouldn't take long for someone to bring him the food he had requested.

Moments later when the door opened, he half expected to see an exasperated nurse appear and scold him for bothering her again only to find Steve coming across the room.

"Hey, Harry," the man said, as he picked up the chair next to the door and walked toward him. "How are things?"

Harry sighed. "Alright, I guess…" His stomach rumbled again.

"Hungry?" Steve asked as he sat.

Harry nodded slowly. "I can't seem to stop eating… I even woke up during the night hungry… it's never been like this."

"Never?" Steve asked. "The doctor noticed you have been eating quite a bit... This doesn't have anything to do with your magic?"

"I don't think so… I don't know." Harry looked down ashamed. "I'm sorry… I just can't seem to help it… I've tried to stop, but..." His voice trailed off as his stomach rumbled again. "And I think it's getting worse…"

Steve nodded. "Alright. Jarvis?'

"Sir?" the voice answered.

"Have Dr. Fleming join us, immediately, and see what you can do about getting Harry something quicker to eat… Peanut butter… there is some in the lounge. Have her bring it with her along with the crackers on her way."

"I have informed the doctor, she is on her way," the voice said.

Harry was looking worried at this point. "Harry, don't worry we'll figure this out."

It only took a couple of minutes for the doctor to rush in, jar in one hand and tablet in the other. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

Steve shrugged. "He doesn't know why he is eating like he is, just that he is hungry. His stomach is rumbling so I thought it would be best if he ate."

She nodded, placing the jar and crackers on the tray table along with a plastic knife. "Best we err in that direction. Jarvis? I want a full scan of Harry as soon as possible."

A moment later the voice of the AI spoke again. "The scan is beginning now, I will send information to your tablet as it is avail-" The voice broke off for a moment "Doctor please take a look at your tablet."

Dr. Fleming glanced down at what appeared to be a clear sheet of glass with blue and red lettering appearing in different locations around an outline of a body. "What the…" Her eyes grew wide.

She moved to the foot of the bed and flipped the sheets out of the way grabbing hold of his toes, they were almost purple and cool to the touch. "Jarvis! I need a cast saw! Now!"

"It is already on its way," Jarvis replied.

Steve asked faster than Harry could, "Doctor? What's happening?"

She had moved to Harry's arm. "Harry seems to be _growing_ … he has grown almost two inches so far, he's also added several pounds. The casts are now too small and are cutting off his circulation!" She felt around on his hands feeling the coolness and inspecting the area around the cast on his upper arm. "Damn it! We've got to get these off him!"

Jarvis spoke again. "Doctor, the breaks appear to have been healed."

Her head jerked up. "Healed?"

"Yes doctor, little evidence of the breaks remain, the same can be said of his internal injuries… If you note doctor he does not seem to require his glasses any longer either," the AI pointed out.

She glanced at the side table where Harry's glasses lay.

"How?" she said to no one in particular, as she looked back toward Harry.

"Unknown," Jarvis replied.

Harry in the meantime was still openly staring at the glasses; he had just assumed he had fallen asleep with them still on earlier. He was still working on that revelation when he heard the whine of the saw now in the doctor's hand as she began to cut away the cast on his arm with a practiced ease.

Soon she was prying the cast open. "Harry I want you to move your arm, slowly… If it hurts at all stop… according to Jarvis the break is healed but I want to get a physical x-ray as well."

Harry nodded, and flexed his fingers, then began to roll his wrist, expecting a lance of pain at any moment. None came. He then tried lifting the arm and flexing it at the elbow, relieved when again no pain came. She then went to work on his legs.

By the time she had finished and with Steve's help, had pried the cast open, the portable x-ray machine was being moved into the room.

* * *

Dr. Fleming thought of herself as a rational person, really she did, even though she looked after one of the most unconventional patients she had ever heard of. Truthfully how many patients have ever walked into any doctor's office with an alloy lined hole in their chest large enough to put her hand inside? Let alone having the same insane person going on to place what amounted to a very powerful high-tech electromagnetic power source into it? Not to mention doing it in less than optimal conditions, while they were being held against their will in a cave, by terrorists somewhere in the desert? The fact he had come away with no hint of infection and no indications of rejection was absolutely stunning! Tony Stark was a walking medical miracle, or at least he had been till his original Arc Reactor had begun poisoning him (though he had figured that out as well at some point).

But this, this was just as incredible. She watched the live feed video absently, as the teen down the hall ate his fifth gigantic meal since they had removed his cast about ten hours before. "Jarvis, can you run those height and weight numbers for me again?"

"Yes, doctor," the AI said. "His initial height was five feet three inches, ninety-two pounds. He showed signs of long term malnutrition, and several old breaks that had healed improperly when young. Average height for a youth his age, within the United Kingdom, would have been five feet seven, with a weight of one hundred forty pounds."

"And what is he at current?" she asked.

"He is exceeded that average rapidly. I calculate, if his current rate of growth continues, he will reach six feet within the hour." The AI replied, a growth chart appearing on the screen superimposed over the image of Harry."

She nodded slowly. "Are you monitoring his diet as I asked?"

"I am," Jarvis said, with a somewhat aggravated tone. "Both what he consumes, as well as his… discharge are being monitored closely."

She sighed, wishing she had more to go on. "Has he shown, or complained of any pain?"

"He has had some apparent discomfort, the best description I can correlate it with would be akin to a 'charley horse', but beyond that I have not observed any further indications of pain." Jarvis replied.

"Alright." She made a few notes on her tablet. "At the moment it looks like we are doing all we can for him. How is my request coming with S.H.I.E.L.D. about the transfusions he received? Hopefully with these latest developments, they will release something?" she asked hopefully.

"I am receiving a transmission from the Heli-carrier as we speak, on another line," Jarvis said. "Nicholas Fury will be arriving here in one hour."

"Great… Just, Great…" She mused. "Status on Hermione?"

"There is no change, I'm sorry," he said.

She turned back toward her desk; moments later a scream pierced the air.

* * *

Harry couldn't understand it; he couldn't seem to stop eating any more. In truth he was getting sick of it! While the food was good, and surprisingly varied, it was just becoming too much. Sleep came in restless fits, as he ached all over (not badly, not enough to be really painful just uncomfortable).

Harry took another bite of his meal, and chewed trying to ignore the fact by concentrating on the telly (a day long marathon of NCIS, it was fun. He liked Tony and the woman in the lab, Abby).

Then suddenly for the first time since he had arrived in New York his scar flared to life. He screamed as his hands flew to his forehead and covered it in a reaction to the pain, it was unbearable!

Color and sound seemed to assault him, crashing around behind his eyes and between his ears, with every 'bounce' they seemed to intensify until he only knew light and pain.

He wanted it out; whatever was causing it, he wanted it gone! It became his focus his only purpose in life! To be rid of the _thing_ that was causing him pain!

* * *

Tony looked up at the flashing red monitor and watched what was happening in Harry's room. All of the monitors he had placed next door where reading wildly; whatever his magic was, it seemed to be flaring out of control! He felt the room shake as a more powerful pulse of energy smashed its way across the room crushing everything in its path. Several of his monitors flickered and failed.

Jumping up he ran towards the door way yelling, "JARVIS!"

"Sir, the Mark VII is fully repaired and on its way to you!" the AI responded.

"Good! Where are Pepper, Steve and Bruce?" he asked barreling down the hallway.

"Ms. Potts is out of the building at present, Captain Rodgers is on his way to Mr. Harry's room, ETA 40 seconds, Mr. Banner is moving down stairs. He will keep away until you signal he is needed," The AI replied.

The roar of his armor's flight system filled his ears, he glanced over his shoulder and then leapt into the air. Feeling the armor lock closed around him was one of his favorite things, the rush being in the suit gave him was indescribable!

"What's our ETA Jarvis?" he asked, as the suit's systems came online.

"Less than 10…" Jarvis never finished his statement as a large mass impacted them and sent them tumbling along the hallway.

Whatever it was, it ended up lying on top of the armored avenger, covering the majority of his view. "What the…"

A voice came from the thing as it climbed off him. "Stark, I think we've got a problem!" the mass he could now identify as Steve said, as he clambered forward gesturing with his shield down the hallway.

Tony twisted his head just in time to see a hospital bed come hurtling down the hallway. His eyes grew wide even as he moved his arm, pointing his repulsor at the object and triggering it to fire.

With a whine a and a thump a beam of energy lanced down the hallway shattering the bed into a million pieces and Steve blocked the rain of small bits with his shield soon after.

"Was that Harry's bed?" Tony asked.

Steve pulled his shield to the side exposing the now unobstructed view. "No…"

An unexpected sight was revealed at the far end, a woman running toward them. A very _green_ woman, she stood at least seven feet tall and sported well defined muscles and wild hair. With a deafening roar she leaped toward them, swinging her closed fists forward, in an underhand axe chop to collide with Cap's shield. The blow lifted him off the ground and sent him down the remaining length of the hall, where he crashed through the plate glass window separating it and Tony's large lounge and reception area. Where he finally tumbled to a stop lying in front of a leather couch.

Tony barely had time to ignite his boot thrusters, propelling himself back the way she had come, to get away from the woman's grasp. Small flaps on his back slid open, allowing room for tiny jets to flare to life, pushing him into an upright position.

"The hell? Jarvis? What? Who?" Tony asked completely confused by the sight before him. This time he had just a moment longer to get a look at her and information flashed on the HUD (Heads Up Display) next to her image, confirming his estimations. The only people on this floor were the doctor, Harry and Hermione, but that made no sense… though the very tight sweatshirt with the Stark logo on the left breast did lead credence to _who_ it was, just not _how_ it was possible! "Is that... ?" he asked blasting a large chunk of the floor she had ripped free and thrown in his direction to dust.

The AI's crisp voice responded to the incomplete question. "Yes, sir. I believe that is Ms. Hermione… she seems to have in some way become… a She-Hulk!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, from this point on I'll be slowing down on the releases, to a more normal schedule (Though the other two stories are of first priority till Have Chrome Will Travel is done, somewhere in the spring).**

 **As usual I own nothing, And I hope you enjoy!**

 **READ! ENNJOY! REVIREW! Because that is the only form of payment any author here expects.**

 **Chapter 6**

Steve pushed himself up from the floor shaking his head. His shield had taken the brunt of the blow but it had done little to offset the impact as he passed through the glass divider or the now wrecked leather couch.

'How in the world had _this_ happened?' he wondered as he gathered his feet under him and began to stand, his hand digging in his pocket as he rose. Pulling out a small box, he flipped it open and slipped the small device it contained into his ear.

"Tony! Try to move her this way! Fleming will check on Harry!" he yelled over the now active radio.

The whine/thump of repulsor fire rang through the hallway as he spoke. "Alright, I'm coming your way!" An almost deafening roar erupted from the same direction.

Jumping up Steve ran to the edge of the wall, arriving just as the crimson and gold armored form of Iron Man flashed past, pausing for a count of one and swinging his shield arm forward. A 'woof' of air exploded from the green skinned woman as the edge of Captain Americas shield edge dug deeply into her solar plexus, doubling her over. He immediately followed up the strike with what he hoped would be a knockout blow, a heavy elbow to the base of her skull.

The woman crashed into the floor, arms splayed out. Steve's eye widened, it was like hitting a hunk of steel! Other than knocking her off balance his blow didn't seem to affect her in the least!

A growl erupted from the woman's throat as she pushed off the floor, swinging wildly toward her attacker, only to find that the shield wielding man had already dodged away.

Tony groaned inwardly as he watched the woman's emerald hand sink into the wall crushing the newly repaired concrete for the second time in the last week. "What is it? "Does everybody hate this room?" he asked no one in particular, as he brought his repulsors to bear again.

As the blast connected with the She-Hulk's back, causing her to bellow with rage, Steve rammed his shield forward into the back of the woman's knees, so she toppled over onto her back. "Tony, this isn't helping! We just keep making her mad!"

"I'm open to ideas!" Iron Man replied, as he lined up another shot hoping to keep the girl off balance.

* * *

A flood of light and sound swirled around him. Then suddenly, with a snap, the world came back into focus, the worried face of Dr. Fleming above him. "Harry! Can you hear me?" Without waiting for an acknowledgment she continued. "We need to get you out of here! They're fighting in the tower!" she said quickly as she began rummaging through one of the drawers.

Harry's mind was racing, trying to make sense of what was happening… the pain… it was gone! His hand sprang toward his forehead, but was pulled away quickly when he touched something wet. The hand came away covered with blood.

The Doctor placed a bandage over the bleeding. "This will do for now, I'll do something more for you once we are out of here! Come on!" she said pulling him up from the bed.

"Her- Hermione? Is she ok? Did you get her out already?" He looked back toward the other room as he spoke.

Her hesitation set him in motion, running toward her room only to find the wall missing, as well as his best friend and her bed. "Where is she?" he asked the Doctor, who had slid to a stop next to him.

* * *

The blast from Iron Man's repulsor obliterated the couch the woman had just used to smash Cap across the room. "Oh, come on! I just had all of this furniture moved in here!" he said, flying up toward the ceiling and back a few feet, gaining a little more distance, while being blinded by debris.

The woman made a sudden leap landing almost under him and with a quick motion, grabbed a nearby lamp slamming it up hard under his flaming boot jets. His left jet flared, suddenly igniting at full power, flipping him over in a near instant mid-air cartwheel, then crashing him to the ground.

Tony's world lit up in a flare of red lights as his heads-up display began showing the damage done by the blow, and a proximity alert as the green goliath approached him again. Now she was swinging a twisted length of metal that at one time had been a lamp, much like a golf club, impacting the bottom of his other boot with enough force to scoot him across the floor and into a heap next to the recovering Captain. "I guess she really hates fire! Cap I'm grounded! Jarvis is working on repairs to my boot jet and rerouting power to my suit's leg servos but..."

Steve nodded. "I'll buy you as much time as I can!" He leaped to his feet, preparing to square off with the woman again.

A yell of, " **Hermione!** " came from the smashed entryway. " **STOP!** "

Steve glanced in that direction to see Harry standing in the center of the smashed opening. By the time he looked back the green goliath was already in motion toward him, clearing almost half the room in a single quick leap. "Harry! Lookout!"

Harry tensed but didn't move as the monstrous woman closed on him, watching in amazement as the green amazon shrank into the form of his bushy headed best friend, who collided into him and wrapped her arms tightly around him in her patented Hermione-hug. Then collapsed boneless in his arms, murmuring "Harry… you're safe…" tears streaming down her dust covered cheeks.

Moments later she was fast asleep.

* * *

By the time the two Avengers had the two teens settled back in Harry's room Jarvis had alerted them, as well as the doctor, of the arrival of Nick Fury's Quinjet. They found him making drinks in the newly demolished reception room.

"Hell, Stark, I thought you would have this place cleaned up already!" the dark skinned man said as he placed another tumbler full of scotch on the bar.

Stark grabbed the drink and downed it quickly. "I had a disagreement with my new decorator… she thought I said modern dump, she was hard to talk on the phone in the middle of a fight."

The one eyed man smirked, as he put a drink in front of Steve. "Cap, Doc… So, what's the story?" he asked as he nodded to each in turn.

Cap sighed, ignoring the drink. "It's your show Doctor." Steve then headed toward the only undamaged screen in the room, picking up a couple of tossed barstools along the way.

Once he was in front of the screen the doctor asked, "Which one do you want to deal with first? Harry or Hermione?"

Fury looked confused for a moment, "I thought this was about Harry and the abnormalities in his blood?"

She nodded "True… but that is not our primary concern at the moment… and truthfully less troubling than the one Hermione is presenting."

Tony chuckled. "She's my new decorator," he said waving his hand toward the room.

Fury's single eye widened. "She did this?"

Cap picked up the story from that point. "Something must have happened up here, when Loki attacked, she…"

Tony just couldn't help himself, he wanted to see the big bad spy's reaction. "She now has a _big green_ problem herself." He pointed at the screen, now showing his helmet camera view of the battle, then the fist shaped hole smashed in the wall.

"WHAT?" the man cried as he sprang to his feet. "How?" He looked at the doctor then back at Tony.

"I don't have a clue…" Tony said with a shrug. "Bruce is down in the lab right now looking all of her lab work over. The first thing he did was scan for Gama exposure, her first samples don't show any, but the ones following finding her here, after the battle, do." Tony sagged a little. "Unfortunately several of the systems are still damaged around the tower, power surges from the tesseract kept knocking all but my most protected systems out for short periods…It will take some time to check all the sub memory compartmentalization and compile it all, and to do that will take some time, I can't even start some of it till the structure of the building is confirmed by the city engineers."

Fury shook his head, "Great, a hormonal, teenaged Hulk!"

"She-Hulk" Tony said quietly. "We've been calling her She-Hulk…. Harry's sitting with her now… she calmed down and turned back when she saw him."

"Fabulous, and how is her boyfriend taking this?" the one eyed man asked.

The doctor chuckled, "You mean other than denying she's his girlfriend? Pretty well, he said with his life he has learned to expect weird things to happen."

Fury quirked his brow up at that statement, but decided other things were a priority. "I want to know the minute Banner has finished his analysis, she will need his help to figure out how to control the other self if this is permanent." He then withdrew a small tablet from inside his coat. "As for Harry, I was going to look at your data first but I think time is of the essence if he is the only thing keeping her calm."

The doctor looked over the information she had been handed, "I recognize a couple of these compounds… this one… and this one… I don't see the other one however."

Fury looked at the two she indicated, and nodded. "You said there is a third?" he asked.

She turned to the screen. "Whatever it is it looks to be an organic compound…. But other than that we are at a loss."

Fury sighed, "Alright, what I am about to show you is classified, need to know, even the World Council of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have access to this information, Stark your father was part of this so he may have something hidden away on it, but I doubt it… He respected Doctor Erskine too much, and as for Rodgers…" He looked at the blond man. "He felt he owed it to you to make sure the process that created you was never misused."

Tony smacked his head. "The Super Soldier Formula!" His eyes then snapped to the other analysis, dots falling into place. "Then that must be the Russian one, the one from the Red Room… The Infinity Formula!"

Fury's eye grew dark, as did his features, "I'm not going to ask how you know about that Stark, just remember that _all_ this information is _CLASSIFIED!_ " he growled. "That goes for you as well Fleming! There are a number of people that would hunt that boy down for those formulas, never mind that one or both of them seem to now be active!"

Tony chuckled. "Magic… His magic acted like Vita-rays… only slower, since he didn't have the nutrient injections… that was why he was eating like he was. Congratulations Cap! You and Nat are the proud papa and mamma of a six foot, one hundred fifty pound boy!"

Steve's eyes widened, though Fury spoke first. "Magic? How do…" Tony could almost see the pieces fall together inside the man's brain. "You said the boy's name was Harry… and the girl… Her name was Hermione?... Did either one of them give you a last name?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, Harry did… not long before Hermione went on her little rampage. Potter, His name is Harry Potter."

* * *

Hermione mumbled softly, as her eyes began to flutter. only to fully open as a wide yawn subsided. "Welcome back." said a quiet voice from next to her.

A smile bloomed across her face as she turned her head, expecting the owner of the voice to be lying in the next bed. Only for confusion to replace the smile moments later as she looked at her now much different friend. "Harry?" she asked.

"Yeah… A couple of things happened since we last talked," he said, as he stood letting her get a good look at him.

His smile was the same lopsided grin she was used to, but gone was the untamable hair. Now it lay in a neat part to the right, no more long bangs covering what was now just the faintest white line of the scar that had been given to him as a baby. His eyes were just as expressive as she remembered, but the heavy plastic rim of his glasses no longer framed them and flecks of amber seemed to dance in his emerald irises. Not to mention his additional height or the muscle.

Those changes, and the lack of apparent injury remaining made her reach for the obvious question. "How… How long?"

He reached toward her and stroked her hair reassuringly. "Not very long… two days, since you were hurt again… so four total…. Then you were awake about an hour and a half ago… but Bruce said you may not remember that.."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "TWO DAYS? How? Did a healer find you? What caused these changes? Did the American Ministry? How…? What?"

"Shhhhhh… Easy… You need to relax…" he said somewhat nervously. "Just take it easy and I'll tell you as much as I know…. But you need to rest for now, the doctors have given you something that will let you sleep."

She nodded and laid her head back on the pillow, and took a deep breath. If she couldn't trust Harry then who could she trust?


	7. Chapter 7

_**NOTE:**_ _ **I am posting two chapters for this story today. Please read the note for chapter 8 for detals.**_

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 7**

Harry closed the door and stepped out into the main room of the well appointed cabin. "She went back to sleep… I told her we moved out of the tower into a cabin but that was it. I think she'll be fine, after the last of the sedative wares off. I'll need your help to explain the reason we kept her asleep for the move."

Steve smiled and nodded as he stirred the large pot on the stove. "I made a big batch of chili, it will be easy to warm back up if she's hungry later." He dipped them both a bowl and headed toward the sitting area.

Harry sat heavily down on the couch. "Thanks… It smells good." He followed the larger man's example and added onions and shredded cheese to the top, then tasted it. "Can you teach me the recipe? This is good."

The man shrugged. "It's not hard. My best friend, Bucky, he taught me how to make this not long after my mother passed…" He looked lost in thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Yeah, I'll be glad to teach you."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. "Have you heard anything from Mr. Stark? Or Dr. Banner?" Harry finally asked.

Steve nodded. "He said he would send over the rest of the things Natasha found with her this afternoon... other than the locket. He locked that in one of the security vaults after you told him it was dangerous and needed to be destroyed. He does have an idea or two he wants to try to destroy it, but thought it would be best if he talked to both of you first."

Steve stirred his chili, scooped up a spoonful and put it on a cracker and ate it. "He wanted to thank you for letting him look at Hermione's wand and the other magical doodads, and explaining their uses. Especially as they were all you had to defend yourselves with over the last year."

Harry sighed. "After talking with Director Fury the other day, I really doubt that is an issue here. Though I will admit that I am a little glad we will have at least one working wand between us."

Steve chuckled. "I would imagine…" The rest of his thought was cut off as several beeps came from a wooden wall section that slid open to show a communications console. "Speak of the Widow…."

Steve made his way to the console and thumbed one of the controls. "Tom Sawyer here, go."

"Funny," replied a female voice, "I would have thought you would have wanted to be Huck Finn…"

"No," the blond replied. "That was my best friend Bucky, he was the one that got us into or out of trouble."

"Ah." she said. "I'll be landing in five minutes."

"Ok, lunch is still on the stove. See you soon." He flipped the switch off and tapped another closing the panel. "I'll go see if she needs any help with anything, can you check on Hermione?"

Harry nodded and headed toward his best friends room.

When the pair of Avengers reentered the cabin they found Harry sitting on the wood framed couch once more; he stood as they entered. "Hey, Ms. Romanov… Hermione is in the shower, she wanted to clean up before she ate…" When he saw both of their arms were filled with bags of groceries he asked. "Is their anything else that needs to be brought in?"

Natasha shook her head. "No, this will last you a few days and if need be, we will resupply." The red headed woman sat the bags on the counter as Steve began to put things away. She then shucked the leather bag from her shoulder and walked toward Harry, sitting next to where he had been and gestured at him to sit again. "Tony sent something for you." She dug into the pack and pulled out a metallic box. "I won't pretend to understand what he did… something about carbon nano-tubing and some alloy, I'm sure he'll be more than pleased to explain it in excruciating detail… if it works."

She handed him the box, still speaking as she did. "He wanted to assure you, if it _doesn't_ work he can undo what he did."

Harry slowly pushed the lid as she had indicated, and it slid open with a metallic 'click'. Inside he found what could only be a wand. The shaft caught his attention first, it was a metallic blue, with a spider web like design of red, when his eyes moved to he handle they grew wide. It was the handle of his old wand! Gently he reached into the case and wrapped his fingers around it, warmth spread though him as he lifted it from the case, giving it a wave, dark blue and red sparks flew from the end.

A smile grew across his face as he turned toward the chair next to him. " _Wingardium Leviosa_!" he intoned, and the chair shot into the air impacting with the ceiling and breaking into pieces and crashing to the floor. "Ah, sorry about that!" he said, sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "I may have put a bit too much into that spell…"

The shocked pair of heroes glanced at each other then at the pile of wood as Harry waved his wand again. "Reparo" the young man said, and the chair re-assembled itself, in front of their stunned eyes. "That will last a couple of days… a week at most. Sorry it isn't permanent… Hermione is better at charms than I am, she'll be able to tell you better after she has a look at it."

Natasha was the first one to speak. "No, no it's not a problem. The furniture here is easily replaced…. So… I guess it worked?" she asked.

Harry's grin widened. "Yeah…. It feels great, maybe even better than it did when I first bought it! I'll need to test it out some more but…"

It was just at that moment that a still wet Hermione burst into the room holding a towel around herself, "HARRY! What happened? Are you alright?"

Harry and Steve immediately turned away from the partially covered woman, faces going red, and all the while a large grin graced the lips of the only other female available. Stepping in front of the girl, Natasha said, "He's fine, what say we get you into something that is not so… wet," as she spun the girl around and pushed her back through the doorway. "My name is Natasha, by the way. Nice to see you up and around."

When the door clicked shut Harry finally let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He shrugged when Steve looked at him. "What? She worries about me."

* * *

It didn't take long for the women to join them again, but this time they all sat at the table as they ate. It was Hermione that spoke first. "Harry, you said you would explain what happened to you. How did you change like this?"

Harry shrugged, "I needed a transfusion after we were hurt in the forest…" He wasn't really sure how to continue at that point.

Natasha sighed, while she didn't understand all of the science she was probably the best one to explain. "Hermione, Harry has told us a little about you," Hermione's spoon paused in mid bite, as she glanced at Harry. "… that you were what your society calls a muggleborn, someone who was born to a family with no known magical talent."

She watched as the tension that had gathered in the girl dissipated somewhat. Natasha continued. "Did you study World War Two?"

Hermione nodded. "A little. We covered the basics at least, dates, leaders, things like that."

The red head smiled. "Did they ever tell you about Captain America?"

Hermione, chewed on her lip as she thought. "H-He was some sort of hero… Worked with the troops in Europe… He wore some awful red, white, and blue costume…with a shield. He looked rather silly, as I remember."

Light chuckles came from both Harry and Natasha, while Steve looked abashed and turned bright red. "It felt silly too…." he said quietly.

Hermione's head turned toward him. "I? Y-you couldn't be him he would be… what?"

"Eighty-five," the young looking blond man said, looking down at his hands. "I'm eighty-five years old, as of March."

Her eyes grew wide. "B-but… How?"

"I was frozen in the arctic, destroying a Hydra bomber headed for the United States…" he began, but was cut off by Hermione.

"The Germans never had a bomber capable of reach… Hydra?" This time it was Natasha that cut her off.

"There are a lot of things that were never made public even after the war, and the Hydra and its weapons were part of them," she informed the girl.

" _At any rate_ …." Steve said, "I was frozen, the abilities that were given to me and allowed me to be Captain America allowed me to survive in a form of suspended animation."

Natasha continued from that point. "Steve was given a treatment meant to bring out the maximum of possible human potential... a super soldier. Soon after the scientist in charge was assassinated, so he was the only one ever created. That is where my story begins."

She poured herself a cup of coffee before she continued. "I was born in Russia at the tail end of the war. My father had died during one of the battles, and my mother during child birth, so I grew up in an orphanage. When I was twelve I entered a special school and was trained to be an assassin. Later I was selected to receive a treatment based on that same super solder formula, the Infinity Formula."

She took a moment to sip her coffee before continuing. "The formula I took, unlike Steve's that changed his body to the maximum of potential, brought me to the peak condition my body was capable of and, unbeknownst to us at the time, slowed my aging to a crawl."

Natasha sipped her coffee again. "Harry was badly injured and needed a transfusion immediately or he may not have survived… so Steve and I donated our blood to him… His magic did the rest."

Hermione looked at both of them then back at Harry. She could see small hints of both of them in his features now that she paid attention to it. The amber flakes in his eyes matched those in the red headed woman's and the chin and now tamed hair, though still black, matched the blond mans… "So he gained some of your abilities?" she asked.

Natasha shrugged, "We know that he has exhibited changes and both formulas are in his body, so we suspect he will have some form of enhanced physical abilities but we haven't tested them fully yet."

"I've been putting off the tests they want me to take…" Harry said.

"Why?" Hermione asked, stunned. "We need to know how this is going to affect you! We need to get these tests started as soon as..."

"Hermione," he said grasping her hand. "We will! But I needed them to focus on you!"

She looked at him confused. "Why? I feel fine! Did something…" Her face went pale, as she remembered the glowing green curse flying at her.

Her breaths started coming in gasps as she toppled out of her chair and onto the floor; she heard Harry saying something but she couldn't make it out over the roaring of the blood in her ears.

Harry found himself being thrown to the ground outside the cabin, still screaming his best friends name as the pair of Avengers sealed the door. Clambering back to his feet he ran toward the door, only to be grabbed by a pair of powerful arms.

"Harry no! You can't! She's changing!" Steve yelled.

"I can help her!" Harry cried, "I did it before!"

"We don't know that!" he said, physically holding the boy back. "That cabin was designed to hold the Hulk! She'll be fine once she starts to calm down."

A crash of something hitting the wall came from inside, as the pair of heroes pulled the boy further away toward the waiting Quinjet.


	8. Chapter 8

_**NOTE:**_ _ **I am posting this story, as well as my others, a few days early as I will soon be on vacation for two weeks. Many of you that have followed my stories will know that that means that I will not be writing during that time and the next chapters will be delayed. Sorry but my family insists, and this is one vacation I intend to get the absolute best out of because they are two of my dream destinations.**_

 _ **Alright enough of that, on with the show!**_

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 8**

It took twenty excruciating minutes for the pounding inside to stop, as the trio in the Quinjet waited, Natasha at the controls ready to lift off if it looked like Hermione was going to break her way out of containment.

As the sounds from inside slowed, they began to relax hoping that the young woman inside was calming, and would return to normal. Until then, all they could do was watch the passive sensors, and listen to the microphones inside.

"It's been twenty minutes!" Harry said. He had been fixed on his watch like a hawk while they were waiting.

Natasha, glanced at the Quinjet's chronometer, for while she didn't think Harry was lying she knew what stress could do to a person's sense of time. Quickly, she thumbed a control. "I'm only going to open one of the camera's protective shrouds, just in case."

The two men nodded as one, as a view screen flickered to life showing the destroyed interior of the cabin. Furniture was smashed all over, the refrigerator was now permanently a piece of the fireplace, and metal octagons of about one foot square each showed in several sections of the room where the wooden walls covering them had been stripped away.

It was then they heard the sniffling sounds of someone crying. Natasha manipulated the camera till they could finally make out the shape of someone in the corner of the room, hidden deep in the shadows.

Harry was out of the jet in a flash, covering the ground as fast as his feet would carry him. His wand was in his hand and in motion before he stepped on the porch yelling, " **Alohomora!** " as he continued to run, smashing open the now unlocked door, even as voices called for him to stop from somewhere behind him.

His eyes franticly searched the room till he caught sight of a mass of bushy long hair in one corner hidden by shadows. "Hermione?" he said as he began to approach. "Hermione… It's me, Harry…"

Harry stepped around the shattered remains of the stove, his heart breaking as sobs came from his best friend. "Please Hermione…"

"S-Stay back!" she said. "Don't come near me!" shrinking back further.

"Hermione..." he tried.

"NO! Harry please! Y-you've got to keep away from me! I'm a monster!" she cried.

"You're no monster… The change… Dr. Banner said it only happens when you're angry… then you change back when you are calm again… he said he can help you learn several…" Harry said.

"CHANGE BACK!" Harry watched as the girl suddenly spun, green eyes staring angrily at him out of the darkness. "What does _**he**_ know! I was calm! But look at me!" She then stood to her full near seven foot height, and stepped out of the shadows. Her green skin rippled as her muscles flexed. "I'm GREEN!"

Harry stared, transfixed by the sight before him. Hermione was only covered by what he remembered to be the blanket that had been on the back of the couch, her long legs stretched out a full two feet below its edge while the other end just barely covered the generous swell of her breasts, leaving her arms bare. She now had jade covered eyes, not much different from what his had once been, instead of their once chocolate brown. The only thing he recognized was the bushy hair, but even that seemed different now, more of a wave than the kinks it once held… that, and it was a deep shade of green.

* * *

Steve and Natasha looked on in awe; both of them had had encounters with the Hulk. While not entirely mindless, he was a creature driven by anger and rage, seeking battle or escape. Before them stood something else; somehow Hermione had retained her own personality and intelligence, but within a hulk form.

Steve looked at Natasha who, when she noticed, shrugged, indicating she didn't have a clue either. Slowly he stepped forward. "Hermione?" Steve asked, moving his shield slightly to cover him, just in case.

The girl turned to face him. "Y-you're the guy from the tower… the one with the shield."

Steve nodded slowly. "So... you remember fighting us?"

She sat down heavily on the floor, bunching the blanket up around her by reflex. "S-some… I remember… Harry. He was screaming… Something was hurting him. I was scared... then angry… I felt helpless. I remember seeing the flying man… the one in the armor… I remember him shooting something at me…" She shook her head, "and wanting to figure out a way to keep him on the ground… I hit his boots… I remember hitting your shield… Then Harry's voice… But it's all kind of… hazy."

Steve nodded and approached her slowly. "That's right… For the most part… How do you feel Hermione?"

She looked at her hands and flexed them slowly. "Alright… I think… I'm sorry about the cabin…"

Natasha shook her head, "It's alright… Nothing that can't be repaired or replaced… What happened earlier… You seem like you are in control now…"

She began to sob again, hands coming up and covering her eyes. "I-I remembered… Remembered how I…" She looked at Harry, tears in her eyes. "How I died…"

* * *

Nicholas Fury stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk with his number two as Maria Hill's voice spoke to him over his ear piece. "What little information we have has been sent to your phone… at least the things prior to the invasion."

"Roger that, I want any of the new information ready placed in the Toy Box, with my special encryption. No one sees this Hill. Do you understand? _No one_. I don't want a paper trail anywhere left on this one, get Stark to help make sure it is scrubbed from the Heli-carrier as well. Everything about them goes dark."

"Will do," the voice confirmed.

Fury paused just in front of a set of steps leading up to the building door. "Any word from Tahiti?" he asked.

The voice on the far end paused for a long moment. "Not yet Sir."

"Alright…" he said, his voice quiet. "I-I'm going to make a stop there before I come back to the carrier… you handle things." Without waiting for a reply he reached up and plucked the device from his ear and placed it in his pocket.

After taking a deep breath, he made his way up the steps and into Number 10 Downing Street.

* * *

Harry's eyes grew wide, but before he could say anything Hermione continued. "Or… at least how I thought I was going to die… It looked like the _Avada Kedavra_ …" she said shaking slightly. "It was the same color… but … it couldn't have been… It would have killed…" She looked down at her hands. She stared at them, like she had never seen them before. "That monster…"

Harry moved next to her and slowly took her hand. "The Hulk, or Dr. Banner when he hasn't changed. I've met him Hermione, he's nice… and brilliant. I think you'll like him…"

Hermione looked at him, irritation evident on her face. "So? He's a monster… like me?"

"Hermione!" Harry admonished. "You are not a monster," he continued as he moved further toward her and grasped her hand. "So you're tall… and green! You're still my best friend…" He suddenly had a thought and added. "Or has that changed because I have?"

"What? No! Of course not!" she said as her head came up to look at him. "You're still…" Her voice trailed off.

He scooted closer, and looked her in her eyes. "Exactly, you are the same girl I jumped on the back of a troll to help save our first year, the same one that figured out what was petrifying students when our professors couldn't our second, then helped me save Sirius and Buckbeak the year after that! _You_ helped me train for the Tri-Wizard cup, and mourned with me for Cedric afterwards! You even went with me to try to save Sirius when you knew it was a trap! And you nearly paid for _my_ stupidity with your life! Then you followed me on this stupid hunt! You are the best friend a person could ask for! And a much better one than I deserve!"

Hermione's eyes filled with tears, as she listened. Then she leaned forward and grabbed him into a hug.

"Hermione!" Harry croaked, as she did.

Immediately she released him, allowing him to gasp for air. "Gaaa… As much as I like your hugs… that was a little tight!"

Her cheeks darkened. "I thought… I was trying to be gentle…" she said.

Steve chuckled. "A change like this will take some getting used to, believe me I know." She looked at him confused and he sighed. "I wasn't always like this, remember? When I was your age I was five foot five and ninety-five pounds if I was soaking wet. I had a lot to get used to; while not as extreme it was quite a change… I kept misjudging things for weeks, till I started getting a handle on my new height, strength and speed. It will take a while, but you'll get used to it."

Natasha spoke then. "And remember, were not sure that this is permanent. It may wear off, or you may be able to change back. There are a lot of questions we don't know the answers to yet."

Hermione nodded slowly. They may be right, but she still felt scared to death by these changes.

* * *

Fury flipped through the pages of information that the British Prime Minister had given him. Most of it was things they had already been keeping track of, a list of confirmed attacks, another of unconfirmed, and then clippings from both of the British wizarding papers, the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. What the report did have that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files didn't was firsthand accounts, from both non-magicals and magicals (at least until the Ministry had fallen to this Voldemort character and his sycophants), as well as an analysis by one of their police officers, an Auror, one Kingsley Shacklebolt,

Shacklebolt was assigned to be bodyguard to the British Prime Minister soon after Voldemort's return. When the Ministry for Magic had fallen he was alerted by one of his friends and chose to continue this duty on his own, doing his best to make sure that he, the Prime Minister, did not end up falling under the sway of that madman.

Fury scanned the rest of the file as quickly as he could, making mental notes of their tactics, suspected numbers, key players and abilities. Once done he withdrew a small black box with silver edges, just over two inches square, from inside his pocket. After placing his thumb on one of the sides a flash of light from somewhere inside confirmed his identity and moments later a holographic options menu appeared floating just above the box. After pressing scan, he began going through the documents adding each page to the device.

Once he was done, and the originals had been destroyed, he sat back in his chair and pondered what to do.

Making a decision he stood and made his way to the door of his hotel room, and out into the corridor beyond.

* * *

Natasha looked up as Hermione walked in, chewing on her bottom lip. "Nat? Could you call those guys again? I kind of broke the shower…" she said softly.

Natasha chuckled softly, but nodded. "I didn't… It's just so short now!" she continued. "I just stood up… and snap!" She waved her hand toward the ceiling in frustration, hitting it, causing a rain of white plaster to fall on her head. "Damn it!..."

Nat laughed out loud. "They can fix that while they are here. Remember nothing here is irreplaceable."

Hermione sighed deeply, shoulders slumping. "Yeah… alright." She dusted the plaster out of her hair as she made her way towards the table and sat down… gently. "It's just... I don't want to make more work for someone… I mean, they did a great job putting this place back together." She looked over the repaired cabin. "I can't believe they managed to do it so quickly without magic."

Natasha set a plate in front of the girl, filled with an English breakfast. "It helps that it was designed like it was, everything is modular, and we keep several sets of the furniture stored nearby."

"So this happens a lot?" Hermione asked, as she took a bite of her toast.

Natasha sat across from her and sipped her coffee. "More often than you'd think…" she said. "I did a fair job of it myself once…" Hermione looked up from her plate. The older woman had a crooked grin on her face. "I spent some time here, several years ago… I had some _issues_ to work through. Clint… the guy with the bow… you may not have seen him but he was there during the invasion, he and Coul…" Her eyes teared over… "Agent Coulson… he was killed by Loki on the Heli-Carrier just before the battle… They stayed with me a lot of the time."

Hermione just sat quietly with her till the woman spoke again. "He was a good agent… but a better friend…" She sniffed, and rubbed her eyes. "Anyway… Harry went with Steve, fishing, they are going to be back about noon or so. We're expecting the final test results back from Stark and Banner by then, Dr. Fleming wanted to look them over before sending them on so it may be a little longer…" Hermione looked up as she nodded her understanding, as Natasha continued to speak. "Now with the boys gone do you want to tell me about it?"

Hermione looked at the woman, a puzzled look on her face. "Talk? About what?" she asked confused.

"I saw the look, Hermione," Natasha said leaning closer. "The one you gave Harry when I told you he had told us about you… I'm a spy," she said with a shrug. "I know how to 'read' people… their body language says a lot. The fact you didn't want us to know something was all right there, in your facial expressions, your posture, even your eye movements. There is something in your past you don't want people to know, and it has nothing to do with your magic or that part of your life."

The fork crumpled like tissue paper in her hand, folding in on itself until it was little more than a twist tie. Seconds traveled at a snail's pace around the pair, Hermione's eyes never lifting from the center of her plate until the silence was broken by the sound of tinkling metal as the now useless fork tumbled from her fingers and settled on the table.

She then drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Please… don't…" she pleaded, her voice sounding lost, alone somehow.

Natasha felt for the girl. "Hermione… I need to know everything about you. Your new powers, though different, are still driven from the Hulk's, even if they appear to be more stable. They could be linked to your emotional state, just like his…"

"Then I could become just as wild… and uncontrollable," she said, softly.

Natasha nodded. "Those emotions, the ones you have bottled up and forced down, they could come to the surface suddenly, and that could be catastrophic… You could hurt someone… Someone like Harry." She knew it was low using her feelings for him in such a way, but unfortunately it was also the truth.

Hermione didn't move, her breathing slowed. "I wouldn't hurt Harry… I couldn't," she said. Her voice was even, flat.

Natasha watched the girl closely as she spoke, ready to move if she suddenly became violent, but continued to push. "I know you wouldn't… intentionally," she said. "But if your anger got out of control are you sure he wouldn't be injured by accident?'

Hermione drew in another breath, prepared to deny the accusation, but hesitated. "No… I…" She hung her head, she had a hard time now just doing something as simple as taking a shower, what could happen if she was angry and lost control.

Her eyes flickered over to the mangled fork lying on the table, and she took a deep breath and began to speak. "I told Dr. Fleming that we were all each other had left; that was the truth… Harry's family were some of the worst people it was ever my displeasure to meet. They may have taken him in, after his parents' death, and given him a roof over his head but they were horrid to him… I know it was bad for him, the extra chores, the ignoring of what his cousin did… and I don't think I know everything… but… sometimes I wonder if it was worse being ignored…"

Natasha sat and listened as the girl spoke, offering no judgment or comment, just an ear, someone to listen. She knew from her own experience and childhood that was the best thing she could do, just be there to listen, at least in the beginning.

Hermione pushed the plate in front of her to the side, no longer even interested in looking at the food. "My parents… I don't even know why they decided to have a child… Sometimes I think it was just something that was expected of them." She chuckled, it was a dark angry sound. "You know what my first memory of my parents is? Them coming back from dinner, to their office, to pick up some paperwork and realizing that they had left me there when they closed the office for the day… It was almost midnight. Then they proceeded to yell at me for not being in the car when it was time to go to dinner… I think I was three or four at the time."

Natasha scowled at that, but kept quiet as the girl continued. "I tried to be perfect, exactly what they wanted me to be. The perfect little girl… but when I was ten I heard them talking about boarding schools… which of them offered year long boarding. I cried my self to sleep every night for a week after that. Then Professor McGonagall came."

A small smile came to the girl's lips as she spoke about the woman. "She is a professor at Hogwarts, and teaches Transfiguration. When I saw what she could do I was amazed, and then she told me that I would be able to do it too." Hermione seemed to somehow shrink as her shoulders drew in and her head drooped. "I thought, this will make them proud something so special so amazing, that only their little girl could do… The only questions they had were about how much it would cost, and how long the terms were…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she remembered the pain she associated with it.

It took almost two minutes before she began to speak again, so soft and dejected Natasha could hardly make out her words. "As it turned out it was a bargain… almost ten months a year, for the bargain basement price of four thousand pounds… Room and board included." Her hands clenched into fists. "So I made a promise to myself, I would be the best student that school had ever seen!"

Her head raised slightly as anger began filling her voice. "This was a chance to be something different, something more!"

But just as suddenly as the change had come, it dissipated. "Harry... and Ron along with the other Weasley, helped me realise there are more important things… and what family is supposed to be. The Weasleys took us both in, Harry and me, treated both of us as one of their own." The smile on her lips grew wider. "Even if they didn't have much their door was always open… I spent most of my summers there… It was amazing…"

She sighed, deeply. "Then the war started again… and things got worse. When I got back from school last spring, I made a decision. I cut ties with my parents… Using a spell I modified their memories… They now have the life they always wanted, one without me in a new house across town from where I grew up…" Tears slid down her face. "We don't know if any of the Weasleys are still alive… but if they aren't…" She sniffed. "If they aren't, we are the only thing each other has…." Her voice trailed off for a final time as she dissolved into sobs.


	9. Chapter 9

**And I'm back... Well, I'm home anyway,**

 **This chapter was done before I left so think of it as a bonus!**

 **Everything else will continue soon (need to catch up for work)**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 9**

Nick Fury stepped out of the car he had rented in the city, under one of his aliases, and looked up at the house in front of which he had parked. Gone was his normal garb of S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit and long black trench coat, in its place he wore a dark charcoal colored suit and dark blue silk shirt, along with a light grey tie.

The house in front of him was a classically styled two story stone English country home, well cared for, and quite charming. Walking up the stone paved walkway he couldn't help but admire the wonderful garden that began just inside the small stone fence, it was beautiful, possibly more so now in the moonlight, than during the day.

He paused, kneeling down to inspect a new growth ivy that was beginning to wind its way up the trellis. He smiled softly. It was too early for such growth, but who would notice such a thing here, almost two miles from the nearest neighbor?

He was under no delusion, he knew that he was being watched, and unless he was mistaken he had been ever since he turned off the main road. He had seen one of the curtains move ever so slightly in the still darkened house, after he had exited his car. So he knew that the home's owner was aware he was here. Everything he had done after that had been carefully choreographed to let the person inside know that he was coming here in peace.

A feminine voice wafted out of the darkness from some place in the general direction of the house. "Nicky? Why are you here?" it asked, softly.

Nick stood slowly, and turned toward the house. "You have a lovely home Jackie…"

He could just make out the woman's outline deep within the shadows of the building, as the moonlight caught purchase on a few strands of her long blond hair. "What I told your father the last time I saw him goes just as much for you _little Nicky_." She spat his name out with no small amount of venom. "Just as I told him, and I tell you now, _GO AWAY_!"

He clasped his hands, loosely, in front of him. "Jackie… I'm not here on S.H.I.E.L.D. business." He tensed slightly, as he lost track of her in the shadows. "But I do need your help…"

Her voice hissed quietly from someplace behind him, making him jump. "I don't care what you need!"

He spun to face the direction the voice came from. "Jackie! Please!" he pleaded. "I can understand…" he said as he scanned the darkness beyond the garden.

"You understand nothing! _Little Nicky_!" said the woman's angry voice from somewhere in the darkness.

Nick snapped to a stop, and stood stock still. He finally spoke. "You're right. I don't." He sagged a little. "But the longer I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. the more I do have an inkling… But what I have lost will never compare to what you have… what my father's actions cost you…"

"If you understand any of what I feel, then you will leave!" her voice said from somewhere out past his car. "You and your like have left me alone up until now, you can continue to do so!"

He turned again, searching the darkness. "I said this was _not_ S.H.I.E.L.D. business, Jackie… and it's not!" he said, becoming agitated. "I do, however, need to ask you for your help! Just hear me out! That is all I ask! If you don't want to help after that, that's fine… I'm hoping that at the very least you can give me some more information about the situation… Please, Jackie!"

He heard the door of the house creak open and the click of a light switch, suddenly the walkway was flooded with illumination from inside. "You have until I finish my evening tea," said the woman as she walked inside with her back to him.

As he stepped inside he could not help but look around. The home was warm and inviting, though it somehow did not seem quite real. As if it was all in some way stage dressing for a movie or television production, every piece chosen to tell the story of a well to do family living a nice peaceful country life.

Just off the front hallway was a study, with a heavy oak desk dominating the far side of the room with a heavy leather chair sitting behind it. The desk was filled with paperwork, some of it looking as if it had been recently abandoned, as if the person had been called away suddenly to deal with another task. It looked every bit like the office of whoever owned the house. If it had not been for several inconsistencies, including the placement of the pens vs. the pen holder and the way the pages had been placed, he may have even believed it.

To the other side lay a sitting room, couch along one wall and a pair of chairs, facing the other way across a beautifully carved coffee table on which sat several magazines, as well as an abandoned book, lying open face down. The inconsistencies in that room were no less subtle but still showed that his host had set it up. At least these two, and possibly more of these rooms were nothing more than a facade.

Deciding to keep these observations to himself, he followed the sounds of softly clanking metal toward the kitchen.

The woman he found there, filling a tea kettle, was petite, standing no more than five foot five, with a slim athletic build. Her hair was a beautiful shade of blond that matched almost perfectly with the shimmering gold dressing gown she was wearing. She looked as young and as beautiful as the first day he had seen her some thirty odd years before.

After she placed the kettle on the stove, she turned to face him, her deep blue eyes looking at him sadly. "You don't have much time, what to you want Nicky?"

Fury nodded. "I need information," he said, as he leaned against the doorway. "What can you tell me about the Ministry for Magic, Vold..."

Before he could finish the name she had crossed the room in a flash of gold and had her hand over his mouth, keeping him from finishing. "Don't say that name!" she hissed, "I like this house! And have no intention of having that psychopath, or his people, come here and fight me to keep it from being destroyed!"

He looked at her through his one good eye, his face showing his confusion. "I don't know how you know about magic, or the fact that _he's_ back," …she slowly removed her hand, and stepped back... "but he has placed a Taboo on his name; saying it will alert them and they will dispatch the snatchers to capture or kill whoever spoke it."

"They can do that?" he asked.

She went to the cupboard next to the sink and took out a cup and began rinsing it in the sink. "They can, and did. I don't care how you know about the Ministry, so I won't ask, but they had it set up not long after they managed to take it over… The Ministry building is now his seat of power."

Fury nodded his understanding. "Then I was right to come to you, you seem to keep up on what is happening with the magical people."

She shrugged. "I keep tabs, yes. I don't have much of a choice. If they found out about me I could spend the rest of my life locked somewhere in the Department of Mysteries being dissected over and over while I healed. I can't risk them finding out about me any more than I can some others."

He smirked and grunted a small chuckle. "Department of Mysteries? Really?"

She picked up what he presumed to be her cup from the drying rack and placed them both on the counter next to the stove. "Don't laugh. Their name may not show much imagination but they are as dangerous as they come! And they are ruthless when they think it is something they can use! I swear they could have given Hydra a run for their money, only they don't use science… not that that slows them down," she said while staring at the kettle, as if willing it to boil.

Fury's smirk changed into a scowl; if she equated the two then he had no doubt that the comparison was accurate. "Alright, I need to know about them too, as well as everything you know about Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger."

The blond looked up at him. "Potter and Granger?" She shrugged, and turned around leaning against the cabinet. "They are undesirables number one and two; they've been missing for several months… So they made it across the pond?" It was her turn to chuckle. "I thought they were in hiding, probably someplace on the continent, because if he had them their bodies would have been paraded all over the Alley then hung at the gates of Hogwarts, their old school." She turned back to the stove and smiled, as the whistle began to blow. "Well good on them!"

She placed a tea bag in each cup, and filled them with water as Fury spoke. "Through an odd turn of events they did make it, yes, and those same events brought them to my attention…"

"As well as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," she said, handing him a steeping cup.

He shook his head, and refused the offered sugar and milk. "No… I deleted everything about them from the records… Something else happened as well… You knew we found Rogers?" he asked.

She nodded. "I saw the footage of the invasion… I never thought I'd see that costume again."

He took a sip from the cup. "Well, he and the others, the Avengers… found... Harry and Hermione in some woods in northern England not long before the invasion. Rogers and the others had captured Thor's brother Loki, and were bringing him back to Headquarters… and there was a fight. Both of the kids were injured, Harry quite badly…. Rogers had to give him a transfusion… It changed him," he said when he couldn't think of a better way to put it.

The woman's face darkened, and she drew in a deep breath. "His magic… It activated the formula?" she asked.

Fury sighed. "Tony Stark and Bruce Banner think that was part of it, but there were other factors as well… there were other substances in his blood, things they still have not identified."

"Potions, most likely," she said. "I don't know much about them myself but… they are effective, from what I have observed."

"They were organic, but have resisted all of their testing." In a way he did feel bad about not telling her all of what Stark and Banner suspected including the addition of the Infinity Formula, but any secret of the Super Soldier formula needed to be protected, especially what they suspected about it being jumpstarted by the energy field of the Tesseract during the invasion.

She set her cup on the counter. "So you are protecting the boy?"

Fury sighed. "Not just him, her as well… We don't know how, but during the invasion she somehow absorbed some of the Hulk's abilities…" The woman's eyes widened. "Only she seems to have kept her intelligence and personality even if she is seven foot tall and green. The Avengers have… kind of adopted them, and want to help Harry, when he comes back here."

Her eyes grew wide. "He's planning on coming back?"

Fury nodded. "He is, but at the moment we, the Avengers and a few others we have hand picked, are trying to help them deal with the changes they've undergone, as well as making sure those changes are not life threatening."

"Well, if he does come back, I wish him luck," she said between sips. "His opposition has been solidifying his hold on the populace, 're-education camps' seems to be the term that his people have settled on for what they are doing to those they deem as undesirable." She sighed. "They've rounded up as many non-magic-born as they can find, and have begun doing the same to some others that refused to join the coup." She shrugged, as she continued. "It won't be long until he turns his sights toward the continent. The only thing that has been holding him back so far has been the occasional sightings of Potter, but that won't keep him from acting much longer…"

Fury cringed when he heard about the re-education camps. "So, he's gone that far." The woman nodded, a solemn look on her face. "And… these camps…"

She shook her head. "Not that bad… not yet, but it is still bad, and it's just a matter of time. He put a woman, Umbridge in charge of them. If she has her way… it will be Auschwitz all over again."

"God…" He looked at her. "And you haven't told anyone?"

She looked at her hands sadly. "Would you believe the eighteen year old girl just about to head off and start Uni?"

"Jackie…" he began. Only for her to cut him off.

"I couldn't do anything! I didn't know you were even a member of S.H.I.E.L.D… and I don't have any contacts in the government anymore not since…" Her voice trailed off.

"Brian." He said for her. As much as he wanted to comfort the now crying woman, he didn't move. "If it's that bad I need to know everything."

She nodded, and turned toward him. "I know…" she said dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex she produced from one of her robe pockets. "I'll tell you what I can."

* * *

With a loud exhale Harry dropped the front of the Jeep and a small cloud of dust flew up from around the tires. "That's it…" he said, breathing hard.

Steve nodded. "Forty-four reps this time. Not bad," he said as he made a note on the tablet he held in his hands.

Harry straightened, and shook out his arms and legs as he caught his breath. "H-how many did you do?" Harry asked.

Steve smiled. "While Natasha had you running? In the same length of time? Seventy five… it was a good light workout."

Harry's eyes widened and he shook his head as he stepped away from the lift bar that had been attached to the frame, only to hear his best friend's voice as she took his place. "Boys, always measuring the size of their… Biceps." As she lifted the front of the Jeep Rubicon with one hand and curled the heavy vehicle's weight easily. "I could probably do this all day," she said, with a huge smile on her face.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, but you couldn't keep up with me on the run could you?"

She glared at him, as she set the Jeep back down. "Only because they made me climb up the cliff this time instead of jump!"

Steve smiled at the pair. "Alright that's it for now. We need to get back up to the cabin. Tony, Bruce and Dr. Fleming will be here soon and they want to talk to you."

It had been almost a week since they had arrived, and even with the changes they had gone through the time spent here had been good for the pair of teens, though Hermione had postulated that it may have had something to do with being away from the locket as well.

An hour later they were standing outside the cabin as Tony, in his Ironman Armor and a Quinjet came in for a landing. Once greetings had been completed, they made their way inside and arranged themselves around the living room putting the teens toward the center.

"Well, you will be happy to know that everything seems to be okay so far with both of you," began Dr. Fleming, as she used her tablet to show two sets of files on the large television. "Granted we are working with some uncharted ground with both of you, Hermione even more so, but all of the indications so far, are quite promising."

She swished the page toward the right and Hermione's chart filled the screen. Dr. Banner stood and walked up next to it. "Adrenal levels seem to be within expected parameters, or at least within the equivalent of normal given your Hulk state, as are all of your other blood chemistry levels. Your form appears to be stable," he said smiling and turning toward her. "Even under stress. Though at this point these are only preliminary findings, it does look promising."

Hermione sagged back into the couch, it groaned slightly under her now much more considerable weight, relief flooding her body. "A-and do you still think I may be able to change back?"

Bruce chewed on the earpiece of his glasses for a moment, lost in thought. "I wouldn't think that it was impossible…" He shrugged. "From what I have seen, your body now is completely within a normal human range, only at a Hulk scale. If you can find a way to 'flip' the trigger that caused the change back the other way…." He nodded. "Then yes, I do think it is possible."

She looked even more relieved. "And does any of this help with your condition, Dr. Banner?" she asked, hopeful for the kind man.

Again he nodded. "While our circumstances are quite different, and my residual Gamma exposure much more severe, it does give me hope, hope that at the very least I will be able to have more… _direction_ over the Hulk… at this point only time and more study will tell."

Dr. Fleming flipped to the next page as Banner sat back down. "As for your injuries… the ones sustained just before the invasion, and any further ones from the fight in the tower… they are gone… not healed, but gone!" A pair of x-rays appeared side by side on the television. "On the left is the original x-ray of your arm, and on the right is one we took two days ago. No calcification over the break, and no sign of it in general… We found shards of a potion vial in the debris… was that the bottle of Essence of Dittany?"

Hermione nodded. "I put it in my sling… after I stunned you and the other woman…" she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry..."

The doctor waved her off. "It's fine. I understand now, and may have done the same in your place. Though I would like the chance to study any of your potions, and see if they could be used to help more than just wizards."

Hermione shrugged. "I would, but… it would need to be discussed with your Ministry for Magic."

"That is unlikely," replied Natasha. "Hermione, I know that you have been expecting them to show up at any time… but the truth is no such thing exists here," she said sitting forward and placing her elbows on her knees. "I have talked with Director Fury, at length, about what we know about magic and the truth is it's not much. While we do have several enclaves of magic users they are more along the lines of a sort of healer or witch doctor, your people call them hedge mages."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, their eyes wide, then back toward the red headed woman. Hedge mage was a term for an untrained witch or wizard, one that was only taught whatever the family knew; at home it was mostly because a family was exceedingly poor. It was Hermione that spoke the question they both had. "Why?"

The woman shrugged. "We don't really know, and what we do know has only led to speculation on our part, but there is no known group in contact with any branch of our government, or any other, or the European Wizards, and what magic is known to be used here has little resemblance to the style you use."

Harry looked down at his hand. "So… no one uses a wand?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, not any we know of. Talismans, fetishes, rituals, and potions… Wands and staves are talked about in stories, but not used… at least not the _way_ you do."

Clint chuckled. "Makes sense, in a way, if you think about it. Most of the country was settled by puritans, and later by the poor. It seems likely that that was the case for the magical as well… well, at least the poor part. I don't know, are wizards religious?" he asked.

Hermione chewed on her lip. "No… all the time we were at Hogwarts I never heard of anyone going to church… How about you, Harry?"

He shook his head. "I think my parents were married in a church, or at least some of their pictures are from in front of the church in Godric's Hollow … but that may have been something my mum wanted."

Dr. Fleming brought the discussion back on track. "As for you, Harry, you seem to be doing well also. Whatever the third compound in your system is, it doesn't seem to be doing you any harm... but it is still difficult to analyze at the moment." Harry smiled at that. "I would like to continue monitoring you both in the future however, with Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner's help," she said.

Harry nodded. "As long as Hermione is ok with it, I am. Thank you Doctor."

Hermione shrugged, "It's most likely for the best, we have no idea how our situation may change in the future."

Tony sat forward at that point. "On that note, Harry I asked for your wand back, once we knew it would work, to make some modifications," he said passing a metallic box across to the young man, its deep blue shining under the lights of the room. "I reinforced the handle with the same alloy I used to make the outer shell while still leaving enough areas bare for your skin to come in contact with the wood. Hopefully, you won't need to worry about it snapping off at the handle if you get in another tussle."

Harry slid the case open and picked up the deep blue metallic wand that was laced with a deep red crisscross pattern, and cast an ' _accio_ ' toward one of the books lying on the counter. In an instant it flew across the room and into his waiting hand. "That's great Tony! Thank you!"

"No problem Ace," Tony replied, as he passed another box toward Hermione, this one in deep metallic purple.

She took it from him gently, placed her thumb on the raised area in the center and with a whirr and click it slid open. Inside lay her wand, only now it had a deep purple metallic casing of its own. She lifted it gently from the foam insert, and gave it a wave; purple and red sparks flew from the end as a warm welcoming feeling came over her.

Tony smiled. "It took a little looking around, but I found the only sample I had left of the stuff my dad made the Boy Scout's shield out of… The trick was getting that stuff to melt again, I burned out the ARC reactor at the tower doing it… and that was for barely more than four grams of the stuff. I have no idea how he managed to make his shield out of it," he said gesturing to the blond man. "I don't think Big Green could break that now."

Hermione's eyes grew wide when he gestured for her to try. She cringed as she took it in both hands and tried to bend it.

It didn't so much as flex.

"Just don't try that with his," said the dark haired man. "Sorry, but I just don't have any more of that metal," he said to Harry. "And I'm not sure I could repair much more damage to that wand anyway. I used all the smaller pieces of wood when I impregnated them into the Nano-tubes… It was kind of a one shot thing… so one miracle per customer."

Hermione cast her own 'accio' spell at another book on a shelf and smiled as it sailed to her hand. "Thank you Mr. Stark…"

"I keep telling you it's Tony, Ms. Greengenes," he said cutting her off. "Besides… I kind of owe you two… it was kind of my fault this happened to both of you."

Harry chuckled. "What? Helped us find some amazing new friends that will come help us save our old ones? It seems like that is working out in our favor," he said, a smile on his lips.

Hermione agreed. "The Potter factor, if something weird can happen it will."

Steve looked at Tony. "They're going to need suits."

Tony nodded. "I've got an idea or two."


	10. Chapter 10

**Another Bonus! Just because!**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 10**

Harry stepped out of his bedroom and made his way to the small kitchen where he began making breakfast. As usual, he was the first person up, not that strange for him actually as he was often the first out of bed due to his upbringing.

He rummaged through the refrigerator, digging out the eggs, spinach (for Hermione), mushrooms, tomatoes, ham and cheese, placing it all on the counter next to the stove. Once the iron skillet was on to warm he started the coffee. "Are you just going to keep sitting there? Or are you going to introduce yourself?" Harry asked.

A 'click' came from behind him, as a light came on, along with a masculine voice. "I was going to tell you that you need to pay better attention to your surroundings…" it said when Harry turned around with his wand in one hand and a carving knife in the other.

"Relax kid, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, sitting forward so he could be seen in the light.

Harry glared at the man over the edge of the counter. Sitting at the table, both hands in plain view, sat a dark skinned man with a patch over his left eye. He was dressed in a dark jumpsuit under a long black trench coat, he could see the S.H.I.E.L.D emblem done in a silver grey just over where the man's heart lay. Moving slowly, Harry made his way out of the kitchen and into the main room.

"Name's Nick Fury, and you're Harry Potter, Wizard… Or do you prefer the Boy-Who-Lived?" Harry grimaced. "Or Chosen One?" The man at the table watched as Harry's eye twitched slightly as he began to edge his way toward the bedrooms. "They know I'm here kid, you can count on it. No way the Captain or the Widow would miss me coming in. I may be good, but they're better."

Harry glanced at the door, and saw it was open just a crack. Behind it he saw a large shadow move and the door close with a soft 'click'. Harry relaxed and lowered his wand. "So you're him? The Director?"

The grim looking man nodded. "Sit down Potter. We need to talk," he said.

Harry glanced toward the kitchen. "Are you hungry Sir? I'm still under my doctor's orders to eat as often as I'm hungry… and well, I was going to cook breakfast for everyone anyway."

Fury nodded. "That's fine, we can talk while you cook." He stood up from the table, crossed to the bar and sat on one of the stools so they didn't need to speak as loudly, as Harry went back into the kitchen, moved the food he had taken out to the counter facing Nick, and began cracking eggs into a large bowl.

"No mushrooms for mine, but I'll take the spinach." Harry nodded as he worked. "Harry… I wanted to talk to you personally, about everything that you've seen and done in the magical world. I've done some leg work, but still don't think I have enough information to begin planning a response. I need to know everything possible, especially about the people we may come across, whether friend or foe."

Harry stopped whisking, and looked up at him, appraisingly, then nodded slowly. If it meant saving his friends, he'd do it. "Where would you like me to start Sir?" he asked.

Fury shrugged off his coat and laid it on the other stool. "At the beginning. I'll ask questions along the way and once you're done I'll talk with Hermione. You can be there, just stay quiet till she's finished, then we can compare your stories. Just in case one of you adds something extra that could be important," he said.

Harry sighed, began chopping the vegetables, and started telling his story.

* * *

Fury looked across the table at the pair of Avengers, as Harry and Hermione were outside being evaluated under the watchful eye of Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. "So what is your evaluation of our young guests?" he asked, sitting back in the chair.

Steve looked toward Natasha and motioned for her to begin. "Emotionally?" she said, pausing for a moment to structure her thoughts. "They're both wrecks. Mentally exhausted, and strung out. But they are both strong and will bounce back given a little more time and a chance decompress. Physically? She's a powerhouse, she can lift right at twenty five tons, and quick too, but her major asset may end up being her intelligence and analytical skills. She'll be something once she has some more training. As for Harry, he's not as strong as Steve and may never be, but Dr. Fleming thinks he will continue to develop more as he gets older, at a normal rate now that his 'growth spurt' seems to have run its course… His reaction speed though is better than either of us, as is his eye hand coordination, we need to train him to use it accordingly. They're solid soldiers, the both of them."

Steve looked at her with a sour expression. "How can you say that? They're kids!"

She looked him right in the eye, her expression bland and eyes cold as ice. " _They_ are soldiers Steve, not much younger than you were then, neither of them has been a kid for years. They have seen more and done more than most people their age could dream of. Those two were never given the chance to be kids. They may not know it but someone has been preparing them to go to war ever since the day they started at that school, and if I read Harry right even prior to the day he arrived there. Only they didn't give them all of the skills or the mind set necessary to complete the job a soldier needs to do… and after listening to them as they talk, it's evident as to who was the one to do so."

Steve's fists tightened till the knuckles turned white, and he grit his teeth. "Their Headmaster…"

She nodded. "I don't know what the man was playing at, but I have no doubt he was preparing them to take a place, whatever it was, in this war."

Fury shook his head in disgust. "If he was still alive that man and I would be having words as soon as this Riddle character goes down, and all because of some prophecy." Anger seemed to fill his one good eye with flames. "He was making plans even before the boy's birth! Isolating the two families whose child _may_ have been able to fulfill his interpretation of some bad poetry! Hell, he didn't even consider anyone born outside of his own country that same year! Then to send them off on this fool's errand to find a number of unknown objects after his death with no more than a handful of useless, half-baked clues? He was a nut! It could have taken them years, while people died!"

Natasha shrugged, "It does seems too handy that Harry's mother, Lily's, best magical friend since childhood, someone who was… what did he call it when someone is born to a first generation magical and an older family?"

"Half-blood," Steve supplied, never taking his eyes off his hands, tension filling his voice.

"Right, Half-blood, somehow joined a group of hell bent supremacists, and somehow ended up being the old man's spy!" she said, annoyed. "If he was truly repentant, he would have known how much her sister disliked magic and would have said something! I don't even want to think about how that groundskeeper ended up with Harry on his godfather's bike by the next morning, only for the godfather to somehow get placed in their prison right after! Without a trial! Or the other 'best friend' that then disappeared for the next twelve years!" She finished with disgust. "Let alone the 'adventures' each year! Trolls, possessed professors, basilisks, soul sucking demons, that stupid tournament with the dragon, resurrected terrorists… If I didn't know different I would think it was all something dreamed up by the Red Room for psychological conditioning! Especially after he was sent back to his 'relatives' after every incident so he could 'deal with what happened'! It was probably meant to toughen his resolve… but that would have needed some form of support when he was home, someone to approve, even if it was in a heavy handed way. We're lucky Harry didn't turn into a homicidal psychopath, as bad as the man they want him to face!"

Fury sighed as he pushed away from the table and stood by the window, watching the pair outside being put through a physical workout by one of his top agents. "I think we have her to thank for that… Just as much as him to keep her from sharing a similar fate… them and possibly these Weasleys… though I do have some questions about them as well… Then again I doubt there is a wizard or witch among them I'd trust about anything!"

Steve chuckled. "You don't trust anybody Nick, not entirely anyway."

"I'm a spy!" said the dark skinned man. "What do you expect? Especially after losing my one good eye…"

The room sank into stillness as they remembered the man he was referring to; Captain America may be the oldest Avenger, but Phil Coulson had been the first.

Finally, Nick spoke again. "The biggest problem I see, at the moment, is their mindset. They know they are at war, they even say that themselves, but they refuse to _act_ it. Evidently Dumbledore went to great lengths to stress non-lethal solutions, and that everyone deserves another chance, even to the detriment of everyone else if necessary."

Steve sighed, that much was definitely true, he could respect the man's feelings about killing but it was far from being realistic. "His headmaster did seem to live in a bit of a dream world," Steve said quietly.

Fury nodded. "More than most… but then again what kind of a leader pins his entire people's future on a prophecy? Especially one involving an infant defeating a powerful adversary?" He continued to watch the two teens outside as he pondered what he needed to do to help them. "Stark is using the remnants of their wizard radio to recreate it, he's having a little trouble isolating the frequencies they use and equipping a scanning system for them, but hopes to find a solution soon, the end of the week at the most… And I've got one of my old contacts in England doing some reconnaissance work. We'll meet again on Sunday and start making more plans…"

Natasha looked at him confused. "You knew someone that knows about magic?" she asked.

Fury shrugged. "I know a few people that have had dealings with the supernatural, but only know of one person that _uses_ magic… well three, with those two outside."

Steve looked hopeful. "Could this person help them?"

Fury nodded. "Yes, but given his responsibilities it would be unwise to approach him. If his attention is warranted he'll know…" He shook his head, as if trying to shake himself from a bad memory. "At any rate, this is something the Avengers can handle."

Steve leaned back in his chair. "So you are not going to involve S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Fury turned to face him. "No, too many questions. The World Council would want to get involved, and while they may want to help, it would do them more harm than good. That world isn't ready to cope with the outside world as it is."

Natasha stood up, and joined him at the window. "I think they're both fine to return to the tower. It will do them good to be around more people."

Fury scowled at her. "Alright, but I want one of you available to be with them at all times, just in case, and don't let Stark get them into any more trouble. I'm going to go over their stories some more; I want you to do the same. If you have any further insights you know how to get in touch with me."

Two minutes later a Quinjet flew away from the compound.

* * *

Hermione tugged at the dark purple fingerless gloves that completed her new suit, as Tony and Steve called it, as she took a look at herself in the mirror. The suit was made of something Mr. Stark called 'ballistic fabric with a metallic alloy weave' (whatever that was), it had a wide center area that was a cream color with deep purple to each side running all the way down her body to tuck into a matching pair of purple combat boots with metallic latching. Short sleeves covered each arm to just above her biceps, the right adorned with a tiny circular British flag, the other with a stylized _A_ with an arrow that made up its cross bar. The gloves had an armored section that ran up both of her forearms, the right one fitted to hold her wand against the inside of her arm. Due to the integration of some of the technology from the Iron Man suit it would be in her hand with the smallest of thoughts and locked in her grip by the same tech.

While purple had never been one of her favorite colors, she liked the look… no she loved the look, and according to Mr. St… Tony, her new 'suit' was as tough as she was. So, no more embarrassing accidents…

She picked up the belt and slipped it around her hips settling it and the small cases ringing it into place each making a quiet 'click' as they locked in against the small metal pads on her suit. Natasha had gone over each compartment, first-aid, extra communications earpieces, a couple of emergency ration bars, as well as a few other small odds and ends. She had said that what was there was fairly standard for a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent minus the hand weapon and extra ammunition. She also told her that she'd help her customize it, both containers and contents in the future as she needed.

Turning away from the mirror she picked up the leather bag that held several sets of clothes that Natasha had brought her that fit her new stature, as well as the few personal items of hers that had been salvaged from the camp she and Harry had shared.

Giving herself a final look in the mirror, she checked her hair was staying in place pulled back into a pony tail, something else Natasha had suggested, and she was pleased with. She then made her way toward the living room a small smile gracing her lips.

Stepping out she saw Steve in his Captain America guise, sitting at the bar sipping a cup of coffee, his dark red gloves sitting under his helmet next to him. "Is Natasha on her way?" she asked dropping her bag on the couch.

He nodded. "She'll be landing any…" The whine of a Quinjet's engines grew from outside. "That will be her."

Harry's voice rang out from the room he shared with Steve. "I'll be out in a second!"

Hermione harrumphed, "And I thought I'd be the last one ready."

Steve chuckled. "He still had to take a shower after you started changing, and you left him with just cold water to boot."

She blanched slightly. "I forgot you were shutting down the house systems! Oh, I'm sorry Harry," she called toward the bedroom.

"Not a problem," he said back, as he emerged from the room. "I'm used to it," he added with a lopsided grin, as he adjusted the heavy looking leather trench coat, and the bag he now had strapped across his back.

Hermione's breath caught a little when she looked at him, he looked amazing. She knew his suit was a dark navy blue and had long sleeves ending in dark gloves of the same color as were his boots. A small British flag sat on his left breast, and just like her he had a stylized _A_ on the outside of his left arm. But the coat she had never seen before.

It was of the same dark blue as his suit, and had slightly oversized sleeves that hung loosely, obscuring the view of his hands and gauntlets.

While she couldn't see it, as the glove designs as well as the system holding his wand was slightly different, she knew he could be holding his wand in an instant as his gauntlet was fitted with a system much like the one for her own. Where once her best friend had been quite handsome, that young man didn't hold a candle to the man standing across the room from her, with his hair neatly combed and his eyes shining brightly and not hidden by his glasses.

"D-do you have everything, Harry?" she asked, as she picked her own bag back up.

"Yeah, I think so." He looked around the room, a slightly sad look crossing his face. "I'm kind of sorry to be leaving. I like this place."

Steve smiled at the young man as he stood and picked up his helmet and gloves. "It will be here when you're done and I'm sure Fury will be willing to let you borrow it from time to time. We need to get going you two," he said, as he grabbed his own bag and made his way out the door, making sure the security system would activate when the door closed.

* * *

It didn't take them long to board the Quinjet, Harry assuming the copilot seat while Clint, Steve and Hermione sat in the jump seats. "Steve? Why did you want us to wear our suits instead of normal clothes?" Hermione asked buckling herself in for takeoff.

"Tony wants you to wear them as much as possible over the next few days, both to make sure no alterations need to be done as well as break them in a bit. If you have any concerns, or feel uncomfortable in any way, just tell Jarvis and he'll log the changes that need to be made."

She nodded her understanding. "I never saw Harry's coat before, why does he need it?"

Steve smiled. "It was his idea, not a bad one either," he said a little louder, as the engines powered up for liftoff. "He wanted something that served a couple of purposes, and with a little wizardry, Tony style, he got what he wanted. The kid is as tricky as they come, that's not the only idea he had for the outfit either!"

Sighing, Hermione sat back shaking her head. She'd ask Harry about what he had done when they got to the tower… It's not like he'd say no to her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 11**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?" Hermione yelled at Harry as they made their way down one of the hallways of Stark Tower.

"Just what I said, Hermione. N. O. No." Harry said, shrugging. "I wanted a few… tweaks, and asked Tony about them. He suggested that we both use this opportunity to try some new things, and even learn some about modern technology, then we can compare what changes we have made. I thought he may have a point, so I started thinking…"

She grumbled under her breath, "You just wanted to play Marauder!"

His grin widened. "Can you blame me? I am the son of Prongs! And godson of Padfoot!"

She chuckled. "I guess you come by it naturally... so when do we start comparing our modifications?" she asked, just as a voice spoke in her ear.

"Ms. Hermione/Mr. Potter?" the AI asked, over each of their earpieces.

"Yes, Jarvis?" they both answered automatically, smiling at each other because of a discussion they had had about how easily they were getting used to the technology they had been around recently.

"The others have gathered in the lounge, and await your presence," it intoned.

Harry glanced at his watch. "Huh? I thought they said ten it's not even eight?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe something happened. We'd better get up there."

* * *

Fury was drumming his fingers on the table as they waited for the youngest of them to get to the lounge. "I don't like this, not a bit… We still don't have all of the information that we need… But we just don't have any more time!"

Moments later the two teens hurried through the door and approached the large circular table.

"Alright, now that we are all here, let's begin. Stark?" The dark man motioned to the man across the table from him.

"I completed the Wizarding Wireless scanner and programming yesterday, and had Jarvis start monitoring them this morning. As of now we have only found two signals originating from within England. The first one consisted of almost three hours of music last night along with intermixed messages from the Ministry." He tossed a tablet onto the table and watched as it slid toward the two teens.

Harry slapped his hand out, stopping it, then spun it around so both of them could read. "Oh! Merlin!" Hermione gasped.

Harry's eyes hardened. "That BITCH!" he growled.

Fury nodded, and filled in the blanks for the other Avengers "A woman…"

The tablet in Harry's hands cracked, and fizzled, as he crushed it. "That… _thing_ , is no woman! She's worse than a demon!" he said tossing the now broken hunk of plastic back on the table.

"Delores Umbridge," Fury continued, "has put a bounty out on any muggle-born, half-blood, or known Harry sympathizer. They have forty-eight hours to turn themselves over to the Ministry or they and their families will be brought in… dead or alive."

Grumbles came from around the table as Fury continued. "I wanted to give you both a little more time to prepare, and talk to you about a few more things, but if we are going to do something it needs to be now."

Harry began to stand, only for Hermione's hand to keep him sitting in his chair. "I think he has a plan Harry, and we need to hear him out." Harry's head pivoted towards her, aggravation plain on his face but she spoke again before he could. "We don't need to do this alone… and they have training we never had."

She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts, and making sure she had his full attention. "Harry, I've been thinking about everything we talked about with them over the last few days. During the talks something started bothering me…"

Her eyes swelled up with tears. Harry, concerned, turned to fully face her and took her hands in his. "Hermione… What?"

"Harry, I-I," she stuttered softly. "I think Dumbledore may have been insane…"

His eyes widened, and he jerked his hands away as if shocked. "W-what? Why? W-why would you think that? He was a great man! A great leader of the Light!" he said loudly coming to his feet.

"Harr-" she began.

"No! He was a great man! A _HERO_!" Harry yelled backing away from her. "H-he captured Grindelwald! He fought Riddle! He was…"

Hermione stood slowly, motioning the others to stay seated. "I'm not saying that he wasn't!" she said sternly, as she took several steps forward and put herself between him and the assembled Avengers, intent on keeping his attention solely on her. "He was a hero! Of that I don't have a doubt! But think about it Harry, _please_! Something wasn't right with him! Why else would he send us out with just a handful of odd clues? And don't you think for a moment that I didn't expect you to try and sneak off on the hunt alone!"

"Why, in the name of Merlin did he send us off by ourselves?" she asked as she walked closer and her voice raised in volume. "Where is Remus? Or Tonks? Hell, I'd even take Diggle!"

Harry's tone grew hard, angry. "Remus is dealing with the werewolves! Trying to get them…" His voice fell away, what was he trying to do with them?

"What is he doing Harry?" she pushed, as she took another step forward. "The wolves are firmly under the sway of Greyback! He would never be able to turn them away, he can't beat him and take over the pack!"

She took a deep breath, and took the last step to bring her within arms reach of her best friend, keeping her eyes firmly on his. "As for Tonks, she was an Auror. One known to be a supporter of both you and Dumbledore, she is most likely in hiding with her parents, if she's lucky."

She searched his eyes looking for any sign of comprehension of the points she was trying to make, watching patiently as his eyes flickered back and forth between hers, at the edge of panic.

"Harry," she said in her most calm voice. "Dumbledore _was_ a hero… **but** he wasn't infallible! He was a man, one that was fully capable of making mistakes." As his eyes settled on hers again, she smiled softly, and slowly stepped out of the way so he could see the others. "Look at them Harry, different people, different backgrounds working together, working to help people. This is what the Order of the Phoenix _should_ have been. Taking action when others couldn't… or wouldn't."

Harry looked around at each of the people gathered in the room, each of them calmly waiting for the young man to think things through.

Hermione gave him a moment then spoke again, pulling his focus back to her. "Harry," she said softly. "I know you respected him, I did too, but what he asked of us, the responsibility he left you, because of a prophecy was too much. We needed help, planning, training, and none of those things ever happened."

For a moment she thought he was going to return to yelling, but slowly his shoulders began to sag, and slowly he slid down his back against the wall. "It's… it's my responsibility…" he said quietly. "I'm the only one that…"

Hermione knelt next to him, and touched his chin to gently bring his face to her. "Harry, you are a _great_ wizard, the best friend I could ever ask for, and you have done so many things that were… _**amazing**_ … since I first met you. **But**!" she said punctuating what she had to say. "I never thought you needed to do it alone." She brought his attention to the others still sitting at the table. " _We_! Will help you. Together they beat an alien invasion, led by an insane god. Together _We_ will stop him, and save our friends!"

Harry looked at each person, in turn, sitting around the table, each of them giving him an assuring smile and a nod of agreement.

Slowly the young man gathered himself, and brought his attention back to Hermione. "Any other revelations you've been thinking about?"

She sighed, glad he had taken it as well as he had, but it was time for the other shoe. Taking another deep breath, she nodded. "One big one… this one I think you may already know the answerer to, deep down even if you can't admit it… Harry… what happens in a war?" she asked.

Harry looked at her confused, as his mind pondered the question.

What did happen in a war? he asked himself.

The answer seemed fairly simple, you fought the enemy… but was it that simple? He looked around at the other people in the room.

Tony Stark, Harry knew that the man was worth more than probably all of the gold in Gringotts, yet he put his life on the line in a suit of armor. He looked at him with sad eyes, as if haunted by something.

Clint Barton, marksman, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He had heard the man joke and laugh even at the littlest of things. He was quick to smile, and always seemed to have a kind word, he reminded Harry of Sirius in some ways. Now, however, his eyes were hard, dark. There was something in them he had only seen in one other person's… eye, Mad Eye Moody.

The next face he found belonged to Dr. Banner, his eyes held some of the same pain he saw in Tony's, but it was somehow different, as if some form of deep shame accompanied it.

On the other side of the table his eyes found a set of eyes that, over the last couple of weeks he had seen a lot of. However, now, Natasha's eyes were cold, angry, but in their depths he could see pain, and a hint of her own personal hurt.

Steve was next. His eyes were firm, determined, but they too held some of the darkness that the others had.

The last person at the table was the one that he somehow, wanted to look at the least. He knew the man was the leader of a large organization, one that had been pivotal in the invasion. The man was sitting forward in his chair, his hands arched into a steeple that covered his face to just below his eyes… or eye as one had been lost and covered with a dark black patch. His eye was dark, cold, it held a depth of anger and loss that was undeniable. 'This man is a leader,' Harry thought, 'one that has sent his people out into harm's way, knowing that they most likely would not return. He has given them orders to do things… things that have seen them, or others killed. Something Dumbledore was unwilling…

He paused thinking about that. No that wasn't true, Dumbledore had been willing to send people out… but he had never been willing to…

Memories of the telly's broadcast of the invasion flashed through Harry's mind, his new friends, the National Guard, even the Police fighting back, all to protect their city… their world from a threat beyond their imagination.

Harry's eyes widened. "People kill… or die…" he said under his breath.

Hermione nodded. "I've thought about it a lot, Harry. We were never fighting a war… We were…" She paused then sighed. "I don't know what we were doing…. Riddle's people were at war while we… we floundered… and did nothing." Tears slid down her face.

She sat back on her haunches, eyes blankly on the floor. "Something… Something had to have been wrong for a long time, even back before your parents went into hiding… They were losing back then, just like now, and Dumbledore did the same thing… Nothing, and when others fought back… he spoke about forgiveness, and second chances. Chastised those who fought hardest… those willing to kill to protect those they loved."

She sniffed, and looked up at her best friend. "Then when Riddle was gone… he… he didn't do anything. He had eleven years to help change things, or to look for those stupid Horcruxes, or even make sure that the next ten years worth of students through Hogwarts didn't harbor the same feelings of hate… but he chose to… to do nothing!" she said, her voice becoming angry.

She wiped her eyes and when Harry could see them again they were red and puffy. "He did NOTHING! He played games with our future! Instead of choosing one course, or asking for help he tried to do it all himself… Whatever happened to him, whether it was his sister's death and Grindelwald's hand in it, like Rita Skeeter's book said, or something else, he actively let the situation that bred Riddle and his people continue! If he had just said something, trusted one person!" She broke down into sobs.

Harry moved forward and gathered her into his arms, joining her in mourning all of those that had been lost to one old man's hubris.

He didn't know how long they sat there holding each other, but when he looked up only one person remained in the room, Nick Fury, though he had moved to sit closer to them. Harry looked at him questioningly.

"They're making final gear checks, it will still be a few more minutes till they're ready to go… I had Natasha grab the bags out of your rooms, they'll make it on the Quinjet with the rest."

Harry nodded his understanding as he pulled away from Hermione, who was now sniffling less. "Ok, we'll meet the team on the roof as soon as we clean up."

Fury nodded. "We're not leaving without you."

"You're going with us?" Harry asked, looking surprised.

"I am," Nick confirmed. "I want to help you keep them out of public knowledge… at least until they can figure out how to be a part of the world at large. As it is they have no idea of how to survive in today's world. So I'm going to help by doing communications and strategic planning, Rogers will be tactical command once you're on the ground."

Harry thought about what Fury was telling him, and after the last few weeks he knew the man was right. The muggle world had changed so much compared to what they knew… "Sir? What do you plan to do about the Ministry? Or the International Confederation of Wizards?"

Fury chuckled. "One step at a time Harry. We need to handle the things in front of us first, we'll deal with the rest afterward." He stood and turned toward the door, stopping just before stepping outside. "That doesn't mean that if you have an idea you shouldn't say something, because you can bet I'll be thinking about it." He then turned and continued out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**I apologize for the delay but things have been a little strange after my vacation and the start of the holiday season. I think that everything is back on track, but you know what they say happens when you make such an assumption….**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 12**

A man stepped out into the moonlight and looked around, rubbing his hands together trying to fight off the slight chill that hung in the air. He then sucked in a deep breath of air, glad to be away from the foul smelling tobacco being used by more than a few of the men inside.

Though, truth be told there were worse places to be stationed than the middle of a moor. He could be one of those poor souls that were helping prepare Azkaban to be repopulated with the filth they were holding here. Having those… creatures, Dementors, around while the changes were being made to their new feeding grounds would be truly miserable. Thankfully he had never run afoul of Madam Umbridge, or her friends, so for the time being he figured he could put up with a bit of chill.

He never heard nor saw the dark carbon arrow come lancing through the darkness, nor did he notice the head pierce the heavy wool coat he wore. What he did notice was the sudden blossoming of pain just below his sternum as all of the air in his body was gone, and no matter how hard he struggled he couldn't draw another breath. Darkness pulled at the corner of his vision as he continued to struggle, shadows closing around him like a heavy blanket until he finally passed into oblivion.

"That's seven," said a voice in Natasha's ear, as she passed the now motionless body lying in front of the small building. "You're going to owe me dinner if you don't catch up soon."

Natasha rolled her eyes, as she made her way to the door way. "Barton," growled a second voice. "Keep your mind on the OP! And let Widow do her job! This isn't a competition," it said.

Natasha made her way toward the small building. With a sudden burst of speed and agility she bounded between small outcroppings, window ledges, and roof edges, to the open window on the second floor. Looking in for the barest of moments, she slipped inside.

Tony hovered above the structure at about two hundred feet waiting for the signal from within that the last objective had been secured by the pair of assassins that were a part of the Avengers. "Jarvis? Confirm all contacts within the compound again. I want you able to lead the Quinjets in on auto as soon as Nat has that building secure. Then confirm the arrival time at the building we secured in Greenland, I want to know the moment they arrive."

"As you wish sir," the AI's voice intoned, before pausing for a moment. "Sir, I can confirm sixty-four prisoners, as well as eig- seven remaining guards. I have also confirmed all four slaved Quinjets are holding station at five miles. Flight time to Greenland, two hours thirteen minutes."

Tony nodded slightly as he watched another of the lights representing the remaining guards inside the guard house wink out. "Alright, as soon as they are loaded I want us on the way to the kids' school. We're counting on you to get us past the repelling wards, just like you did here Jarvis. Any word from them yet?" he asked.

"Understood sir, and no. No word from them as of yet. Course and destination have been laid in sir," replied Jarvis as he continued to monitor the situation below.

* * *

"Are you sure the boy is ready?" asked the elderly man sitting in a large burgundy wingback chair that was facing the warm fire flickering within a large and ornate fireplace.

"He is," replied the insubstantial specter that stood vigil just to the seated man's left shoulder. "You have taught him all that you could, as have I. It is now up to him to make sure our family's mantle becomes respected once more.

The older man sighed. "If only I had understood things when I was younger, then his burden would not be as great… I made so many poor choices, my old friend."

"As did I," the ghost replied. "But that is in the past, the future is in his hands."

The old man nodded, and laid his head back against the soft upholstery, his eyes closing for the last time as he let out a shuddering breath and passed away.

The ghost smiled softly. "Go in peace my friend," he said and faded into the night.

* * *

Harry lifted his wand and waved it over the door's lock and whispered the spell to magically unlock it. "We need to head downstairs, there's a trap door hidden in the floor, the tunnel underneath it leads to the castle," he whispered.

Steve looked confused. "Why would there be a tunnel from a school to a candy shop?" he asked quietly.

Harry shrugged as he led the way through the small sweet shop, into the store room, and down the stairway.

When they got to the bottom Hermione moved to the center of the room. "Harry, check the map again, and keep an eye on it, if something goes wrong we need to know what, or who, is headed our way. Cap? Let me know if you feel the wards trying to drive you away again."

Harry and Steve nodded, as Harry reached towards his back slipping an old piece of parchment from one of his many pockets. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said quietly, tapping his wand to the page.

Steve watched, amazed, as dark ink seemed to bleed up from within the page forming lines, representing the walls of Hogwarts.

Harry studied the page as Hermione ran her wand over the stone that covered the entrance. "It looks like the majority of the students have taken refuge in the room of requirement… The Carrows are in the headmaster's office… Snape… he's in the third floor hallway, just outside the Charms classroom… Malfoy and his buddies are in the snake pit…."

Hermione looked up at them. "It's clear… We'll need to keep checking along the way…"

Steve shook his head. "It will take too much time… We're already committed. We get through the tunnel as fast as possible. Hermione you're with me, keep up and watch our backs; try not to use your wand unless you are forced to. Harry you use your cloak, and go take care of the snakes. I don't have a problem fighting adults… kids on the other hand, I'd rather not hurt them. When you're done with that meet us at the entrance to the headmaster's office. We'll deal with Snape and see you there."

Harry nodded and pulled his cloak from inside his coat, swung it around his shoulders and disappeared from sight, other than his now disembodied head.

Hermione cast a small silencing spell before jamming her hand down hard, fingers extended, crushing into the rock next to the stone trap door. "Harry used this tunnel when we were younger, to sneak into town. From what the twins told us you need to jam the door open on this end otherwise it's impossible to open…" Her fingers closed around the edge and she pulled, tipping the stone up. "Well for them anyway."

Hermione let the stone go and looked at her fingernails. "Didn't even chip a nail." She smiled brightly.

Harry chuckled. "Hard to imagine you concerned about your nails…"

She stood and dusted off her knee. "I _am_ a girl! You know?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Believe me that is one fact I am well aware of…" Harry's eyes grew wide, he blushed as he turned towards Steve. "I-I didn't say that out loud did I?" he asked.

Steve nodded, trying to keep from laughing. Harry face-palmed. "I've spent way too much time around Tony lately…" A smile appeared on Hermione's face.

Steve chuckled. "Harry's first." Steve jerked his head toward the now uncovered tunnel.

Just a short few minutes later the group had arrived at the other end of the tunnel and Cap brought them to a halt. "Alright… final checks… how are your coms?"

Both teens gave him a thumbs up. "Harry, put on the glasses Fury had prepared for you, we need you to be recognized by your professors…" Harry's hand disappeared for a moment before the heavy plastic frames slid into view and he slipped them on. "Alright, let's go."

Two figures stepped quietly into the hallway of the ancient castle, turned to the right and began running, crouched down and keeping in the shadows.

* * *

Harry, hidden by his invisibility cloak turned to the left and hurried the other way, then down the stairway.

It didn't take him long to make it to the Slytherin dorm entrance, produce a pair of small metallic wedges from inside his cloak and place them into the cracks of the doorway. With a snap and a hiss they jammed it closed. Pulling the map out again he looked at it in a shaft of moonlight.

" _Shit!"_ he growled, and began running towards the stairs upwards.

* * *

Hermione took great pleasure in tying up and gagging the greasy haired man on the stone floor at her feet, he had been one of the most unpleasant things about her time here. Let alone the way he had treated Harry over the years, especially during his so called _Occlumency_ lessons, meant to help shield his mind from intrusion by Voldemort.

"Did you search him?" Steve asked as his eyes scanned the ends of the hallway.

"Yes," the girl whispered. "I gave him the sedative as well, Nat said he'd be unconscious for about three hours."

Steve nodded, his hand suddenly sprang up next to his ear. "Someone's coming… running this way." He pointed down the hallway.

Hermione nodded and hauled the unconscious body of Professor Snape onto her shoulder. "That's the way we're going, you lead, I'll tell you if they're friendly or not."

As they approached the corner three people ran around the corner, wands drawn, and green flashes began to fill the hallway only to be deflected by his impenetrable shield into the walls and floors surrounding him.

"DOLOHOV!" screamed the girl behind him, he could only watch as the unconscious professor she had been carrying flew past him toward the trio, with Hermione charging after.

Snape's body tumbled through the air, impacting the three of them and sending them sprawling into a heap.

Before they had come to a rest she was on top of them, digging her way through the tangled limbs to gain a hold on one person in particular and dragging him from the pile, leaving the others to flop to the ground again groaning.

With a flip of her wrist she sent Anton Dolohov spinning through the air into another stone wall with a sickening crunch of bones. "So nice to see you again Dolohov! I was hoping to see you again! I'm just happy it was so soon."

Cap knew her focus was only on the man she was turning to face, as he had recognized the name from the list of people she and Harry had said they may run into.

He had hoped that they wouldn't run into the man, at least when Hermione was with them, for just this reason; her mind was set on only one thing, revenge for the pain and suffering he had caused her during the battle at the Ministry building. While she had survived, and the damage eventually healed, it had been an incredibly painful experience having her chest ripped open and her internal organs burned as it happened.

He flung his shield at the pair trying to stand, skipping it off the floor to catch the man in the upper chest, off the wall then into the woman, and back to him, scattering their wands away and leaving them unconscious.

Dolohov scrambled to his knees, gasping for air and spitting up a gob of blood, his eyes wide as he stared at the jade giantess stomping her way toward him. "What in Merli-"

He never finished the sentence as a foot lashed out and caught the man just under his sternum and lifted him up like a cork out of a bottle to collide with the roof some eighteen feet in the air, only to come crashing down again moments later.

Hermione stood looking down at the broken man, not even noticing till Steve touched her arm. "He's done… You go collect their wands and search them," he said, indicating the other two. "I'll deal with him…"

"Hermione!" said a voice, rushing down the hallway from the way they had come.

She slowly tore her eyes away from the man to look at Harry.

His eyes met hers. "Di- Did he hurt you?" Harry asked as he slowed.

She shook her head. "No…" she said softly.

He stepped closer. "Good…" he said wrapping his arms around her.

"I- I wanted to hurt him… I still do," she said as she melted into the hug.

"It's alright," he said, trying to soothe her. "It's fine…"

They just stood there a moment while Steve worked. "He's in bad shape… but he'll probably live, if he gets help soon… The other two are tied up… We need to get in contact with one of the staff you trust as soon as possible."

Hermione pulled away from the hug, nodding her head and wiping her eyes. "Harry? Where is Professor McGonagall? Or Flitwick?"

He opened the map. "In her quarters… Fourth floor, second corridor."


	13. Chapter 13

**Merry Christmas! And a Happy New year to all!**

 **Well, this is it for me for the year, you know that family thing sure limits the time a person has to write. Anyway hope you all have a great New Year and see you here the second Saturday of the New Year!**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 13**

It didn't take long for the Star Spangled Avenger and the two teens to make their way up the stairs to the quarters of the Gryffindor head of house.

Harry glanced at his best friend as they began to approach the door. She was chewing on her bottom lip and her eyes told very plainly how nervous she was. "Hermione," he said softly taking her hand in his. "It will be ok, I promise. No one that matters will care."

She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I- I just…" She smiled weakly. "I'm just being silly..."

He smiled back at her, in a way he hoped was reassuring. "Trust me I know what you mean… Out of everyone though, I think the professors here will be fine with our changes… I mean they were fine with Remus, and he was a werewolf! Hagrid is a half giant… and Professor Flitwick is half goblin… Being half Hulk shouldn't even bother them. Besides you're still Hermione, just a new and improved version."

Steve stopped just before the door to the professor's quarters. "Hermione," he said as he turned to address the agitated girl. "We don't need to tell them who you are; with the changes you've been through the chances are minimal that they would even recognize you at the moment, especially if you limit how much you speak with them."

She stared at the older man for a long moment, before looking at Harry, who smiled softly at her and nodded. She chewed on her lip a moment longer before she spoke. "No… I won't leave Harry to deal with them alone. If they have issues with the way I am now that's their problem."

Harry's smile grew wider, as did Steve's. "Harry, you and Hermione know the professor best," Cap said gesturing at the door.

* * *

"Incoming!" Tony yelled over his suit's radio, as lights began to flash on his display. "Jarvis counts eight, no nine, intermittent contacts coming this way, eight due east the last one looks to be moving to join them… on the ground and moving fast… get those people out of here! I'm moving to intercept! Legolas! You back me up! Nat keep them loading!"

The roar of Tony's jets filled the night as he blasted away. "Jarvis, let me see them!" he said to his suit's AI.

"Magnifying," replied a refined English voice, as the screen in front to Tony blurred momentarily and several figure's outlines appeared on the screen moving quickly across the moor. "Sir? We seem to be having trouble with our vision and IR sensors. While I am better capable of tracking them with motion sensors, sonar, and radar, I cannot seem to lock on fully to them with any of the scanners, it will take me two minutes to recalibrate the inputs into visual representation, and redirect targeting systems."

Tony growled. "DAMN IT!" he yelled as he cleared a small stand of trees, almost on top of his targets.

A voice cut him off. "Vampires! Tony, they've got to be vampires!" said the disembodied voice of Nick Fury.

"Vampires?" Tony cried, just as one of the speeding creatures launched himself skyward and collided with him, sending them both careening toward the ground trailing a pillar of flame.

"I have no idea what form of sorcery this is, metal man, but I can smell your sweet blood! I will have it! Even if I must peel this armor off to get to it! You will not deny us he pray promised to us this night!" hissed a voice over the rush of the air outside.

Tony fought for control, spinning over onto his back at the last moment to place his attacker between himself and the ground and fired all of his thrusters, scraping the unseen thing across the ground until he felt the pressure of its grip release.

"Shit!" he said, launching himself skyward again. "I'm flying blind here! Legolas? Where are you?"

"Too far away to be any use!" Clint yelled back, as he ran.

"Great! Guess I'll go with the shotgun approach. Jarvis, deploy mini missiles. Wide pattern dispersal," Tony said facing in the direction of several of the muddled contacts.

"How many do you wish to use sir?" the AI asked.

"How man- _All of them_!" he said back. "Fire when ready!"

"Firing!" Jarvis said, as several small panels opened and tiny finger sized missiles leapt into motion in a half circle pattern around the Armored Avenger.

The air came alive with shrieks of pain as two of the missiles found targets within the impact zone, setting the creatures ablaze. "Got ya!" Tony yelled as he brought his repulsors to bear and fired them with a whining thump, tossing bodies into the distance.

"Forty seconds sir!" said the AI, as a body impacted Tony and pulled him to the ground.

"I shall destroy you mortal!" it screamed.

Finding what he believed was the creature with his open palm Tony fired again, the thing screamed. "Not if I get you first, bloodsucker!"

A blur of gold shot past his visor as he pushed the unseen weight off himself, and something that sounded wet landed at his feet.

"Ten seconds, sir," the AI said. "Tracking a new signal…"

Screams came from behind Tony as the targeting systems came on line.

He spun around, palms forward to find a woman dressed in form fitting gold with red boots, mask, and gloves, sword in hand standing over a charnel house of gore, as her hair shone like gold in the moonlight.

She held one of the vampire's heads in her hand, studying its face intently, before tipping her hand and letting it fall into the mass of bodies at her feet with a grotesque 'splut'.

"I don't know who you are lady… but drop the sword," Tony said, keeping his repulsors trained on her.

She turned her head towards him, "I have just saved your life, and have taken no action against you. I would think that that would, at the very least, gain me enough leeway that you would merely keep your weapons trained on me… but under the circumstances it is understandable." She took the sword and jammed the tip into the ground allowing it to stand next to her and lifted her hands away from the handle.

"Just who are you?" Tony asked.

"You may call me Spitfire…" she said smiling, "And please tell Nicolas I say hello."

* * *

Harry stood in front of the door for a moment longer than strictly necessary as he glanced at Hermione again. When she nodded he brought his hand down on the door with a solid 'rap'.

Moments later the door swung open. Beyond it stood a severe looking woman, her hair up in a tight bun and small wire rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose. "What do want n-" she began, before her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. "Harr…" She schooled her features quickly, as her wand appeared in her hand. "Where was the headquarters of the Order?" she asked.

He smiled a sad smile. "At my Godfather's, Sirius Black's family home…"

The woman's hand, holding the wand, dropped to her side as her other hand raised to her mouth. "W- We didn't know what happened to you after the wedding… The Burrow was destroyed, so not even Molly's clock could tell us…" she said stepping forward, noticing for the first time his new height. "You've grown…" Her face finally cracked, as tears began to roll down her face, and she gathered him into a hug.

After a moment she broke the contact, and backed away from him, and studied the pair of people with him. "Harry? Who are these people?"

Harry chuckled, as he turned toward them, gesturing for the green female goliath to answer for herself.

"I-it's me Professor…. Hermione Granger," the girl said stepping into the more direct light in the center of the hallway.

"M-Ms. Granger?" she said as her eyes became the size of dinner plates, taking in the new appearance of one of the smartest students it had ever been her pleasure to teach. "What happened to you? We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey! She may be able to undo whatever potion or curse did this to you!" she said, worry evident on her face.

Hermione startled at that idea. She hadn't thought about what the talented medi-witch here at Hogwarts may have been able to do about her condition.

Steve noticed the look and stepped in before anything else could be said. "Ma'am, that will need to wait. At the moment we are in a race against time, we need to alert any of the other Professors you, Harry and Hermione feel are trustworthy and meet with them as quickly as possible," he said, as she gave him an apprising eye ending with a raised eyebrow at his state of dress.

McGonagall looked angrily between them for a moment, before Harry spoke. "The Captain is right Professor. We have things we need to get done as quickly as possible, before we are discovered by Tom or his people."

She glowered at him for a moment, her lips pursed into a tight line. "Then we will need to deal with the Carrows before we attempt to do anything else."

Harry shook his head. "They've been taken care of, as have Dolohov and Snape… we left them in one of the broom closets downstairs… I don't think they will be an issue for quite some time."

Her eyes widened. "Then I will need to enter the Headmaster's office and take over the wards…"

Harry nodded. "Cap? Can you go with her? We'll go and begin gathering the others and meet you there."

The man nodded. "Alright Harry. You keep your eyes open just in case, and watch each other's backs."

"We will," Hermione said, as the teens headed down the hallway.

The older pair turned in the opposite direction. "I am afraid I still do not know your name, sir. Only that Harry and Hermione seem to trust you," McGonagall said as they made their way down the hall at a brisk pace.

He smiled. "They're good kids… You can call me Steve, Steve Rodgers."


	14. Chapter 14

**It sad day when such a great actor passes. To Alan Rickman we say farewell and Gods speed.**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 14**

Tony stepped out of the armor he had just placed in its sarcophagus for maintenance and rearmament. "Jarvis... full reload. I want the mini-missiles reconfigured for maximum burn damage…" He turned toward the golden clad woman. "What else can you tell me about vampires? Jarvis has dealt with the scanning issue already... How does that even work?" He stomped towards the computer console in the middle of the bay. "What the hell else is out there? And how do we handle them?" he asked smacking his hands on the surface of the table.

The woman was suddenly standing next to the table with only a small shimmer of gold showing that she had passed through the space in between. She shrugged as she laid her sword on the table and spoke. "Vampires don't show up well, if at all, in mirrors, depending on their age and lineage… I expect that is the reason they do not appear on your cameras… You can burn them, but that takes time… Sunlight, of course… A stake will work in a pinch, but only Rosewood will be permanent, otherwise they are just kind of paralyzed… Then there is my favored method, remove their head."

Tony studied the woman's face for a moment under her mask. "You sure know a lot about them."

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I've killed my fair share as well, Mr. Stark."

Tony stood up, nodded and headed toward the computer terminal. "Jarvis? Did you hear that? Can we adjust the repulsors to duplicate sunlight?" he asked.

"I'm adjusting them now…" replied the AI. "Shall I adjust the Arc reactor housing to do the same?"

Tony nodded again. "Do it… and I want you to go over the adjustments to the targeting system again, just to be on the safe side… Pepper would kill me if it didn't work and I came back to her a walking dead man."

He turned back towards the other Avengers and their guest. "What other things are we going to be up against?"

Spitfire sighed. "Wizards, trolls, giants, vampires, werewolves…"

Tony cringed. "Great… First it's aliens, now I'm fighting some kid's bedtime stories… Next you'll tell me they'll be riding dragons!" he said looking disgusted.

She cringed. "God! I hope not! Those things are almost impossible to kill!"

Tony's eyes widened. "They could have DRAGONS with them?"

Spitfire chuckled. "I don't think even _he_ is that insane! They would be just as likely to eat him and his followers as his enemies."

A voice came from the cockpit. "Five minutes to our landing zone!"

"So how do we kill these things?" asked Clint.

"Same as most things," Spitfire replied. "I find most things have problems moving much after their head is detached… as for the wizards they may be a little tougher than a normal human, but they _are_ still human."

* * *

The door to the Headmaster's office opened and a group began making their way inside. First was a small man, his head only coming up to mid thigh on Steve, followed by a pair of women, then Harry and Hermione, who had gathered the group of unconscious prisoners from the closet along the way and had them tossed across her shoulders.

Minerva looked up from what she was looking at on the desk. "Good, you are all here, I've sent messages to both Hagrid and Poppy, they should be on their way."

Hermione dumped the unconscious mass next to the door. "I thought you may want to do something with them, rather than just leaving them where they were," she said with a shrug.

Minerva chuckled darkly as she nodded. "I'll have Poppy check them over, then have them placed in the dungeon… I may need to apologize to Mr. Filch, his decision to keep those manacles in a pristine shape may just prove to have been useful," she said, her face angry as she glared at the pile of bodies. She then turned to Hermione. "I see the new you seems to come with a few advantages."

Hermione's grin widened as she flexed. "I was never much of an athlete… but I kind of like it!"

The short man, or Professor Flitwick as he had introduced himself, nodded. "Indeed! I do not believe I have seen Ms. Granger this happy since Harry woke up after the tournament during her fourth year."

Minerva chuckled, as she watched the now seven foot tall teen blush a curious shade of green. When her eyes moved to Harry to see his reaction she found him staring at the sleeping magical portrait of Albus Dumbledore, the last headmaster of Hogwarts. She walked till she was standing next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He was a good man," she said.

Harry drew in a deep breath and shook his head. "No… No he wasn't." He turned toward her, keeping his voice low. "He was…" Harry shrugged, "Either he was a manipulative bastard, or insane… I'm just not sure which he was."

Her eyes grew wide. "Surely you don't believe that?"

Harry's eyes met hers, they looked tired and sad. "I do…" he began, then took a deep breath. "Did you know this little adventure Hermione and I have been on for the last year was _his_ idea?" he said gesturing to the portrait.

She shook her head, as he continued. "He had us out scouring the entirety of Britain, Ireland and Scotland for things that Tom has hidden, and do you know what he left us as clues?" She shook her head again. "Clues now, not instructions but clues… A single snitch, a children's book, his putter-outer, and a bunch of memories about Tom that he spent a year showing me that I told Hermione the entirety of in less than two hours!"

He swung his arm toward the painting. "Four objects that could be anywhere! We found one!" He held up a finger, his voice raising and gathering the attention of the others in the room. "One! It could have taken us years! We've been alone since before Christmas until Steve and the others found us! No one helping us, out of food, out of money, just us! Where is Remus? My supposed uncle, missing again! How about Tonks? She is a trained Auror! Where was she? Or Bill? He's a cursebreaker, we've needed him! Hell I would have taken Dung! Even his thieving ways could have helped! Why were three _children_ , that don't even have their N.E.W.T.S. chosen for this stupid trip? Because of some drunk's prophecy? That alone was insane!"

Hermione wrapped her arms around him from behind, over both shoulders, quieting his rant. "It's okay Harry…" she said, pulling him in tighter.

Steve placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Harry's right. He's told us, the Avengers, what your Mr. Dumbledore tasked him to do. He was lucky to have someone like Hermione, and even their friend Ron for a time, force the issue and accompany him. He wanted Harry to do all of that on his own." He shook his hand to ward off the torrent of questions that were about to erupt from not only the school's new Headmaster but the others that had gathered as well. "I don't claim to know what, or why, he thought of sending him out there alone, but it was poorly conceived at best."

He appraised all of the faces surrounding him as he continued. "Our first concern is the welfare and safety of our children, they are not expendable! So until the children of this school are safe I will suggest that we not continue this discussion at this time, there will be plenty of time later for that."

"Harry?" Steve turned to the teens. "I want you and Hermione to stay here for the moment, and babysit our… guests. Wait for the people the Headmistress has summoned, and let them look them over. You keep an eye on the map for surprises, and we'll start in the dorms."

Harry nodded numbly, as Hermione spoke. "Alright, be careful… especially when you reach the Slytherins. They can be tricky, and there is no telling what forms of dark objects they have, not to mention their wands."

Steve smiled at her, and picked up his helmet from the desk. "I'll be careful, keep me posted, and try and contact the other team, find out what their ETA is."

"Right," she said, as one arm slid from around Harry. "Com check?" she said.

Harry responded, "Check."

Then Steve, "Check."

"Alright," she said, "I'll contact Fury, we want this done as soon as possible."

* * *

As soon as his suit finished its calibrations Tony donned it then pushed the button for the rear gangplank and stepped out into the night air, flying away from the Quinjet that would escort the transport into international waters.

"Alright Fury," he said into his suit's microphone, "What's her deal? And just who is she?"

Fury didn't speak for a few moments, as Iron Man made his way eastward at near sub orbital speeds. "She's a friend Stark. That's all you need to know."

"BULLSHIT!" Stark snapped. "I can guarantee both the Widow, and Legolas have already asked the same damn thing! JARVIS came up empty on her or he would have told me as soon as I was back in my armor. Just who is she?"

Fury sighed, then spoke in a quieter voice. "Tony, you need to let this drop… please."

Tony's eyes widened, Fury was asking for something? Not telling?

"Her story is her own… and it has cost her a lot," Fury said. "The fact that she is even lending a hand tells me volumes about how bad the situation there has become. You can trust her, and what she can tell you about these creatures. If she wants you to know more she'll say something…"

.Tony scowled. "Ok… For now but you can bet we will be talking about this when we're face to face! Tell them my ETA is six minutes till I am in range of their coms, the Quinjet will be about fifteen after."


	15. Chapter 15

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 15**

Harry and Hermione made their way down the stairs from the Headmaster's office after leaving their charges to Madam Pomfrey and Hagrid, only to come face to face with a pair of very welcome sights being accompanied by Professor Sprout, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

"They insisted on seeing you Mr. Potter," she said, before hurrying away.

The year had been good to Neville. Gone was the timid, pudgy young boy that had once walked these hallways. In his place stood a strong jawed, muscular young man with fire deep in his eyes.

At his side stood a beautiful young woman, with long red hair pulled back into a pony tail, and a small sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks… not many, just enough to add a touch of cute. For a moment they did nothing but stare toward one another.

"Harry…" the young red head said in a rush of breath she didn't realize she had been holding from the moment she had seen him. In a rush of movement she had collided with him in a hug, her face pressed in to the strange material that covered his chest.

"Hey Gin," he said softly, wrapping her in a light hug. "It's good to see you." He let her go and stepped back out of her embrace. "Nev. Sorry we weren't here to help this year…"

Neville waved him off. "No worries mate. Ginny told me you three were off doing something important… Harry where are Hermione and Ron?"

Harry glanced over toward the jade skinned woman and took her hand as she spoke. "Hey Neville, Ginny… It's me, Hermione…" Her voice trailed off.

Neville's eyes grew wide as his mind made sense of what he was seeing. "Hermione?"

Ginny had a look of total incomprehension on her face. "Y-you can't be… Harry?"

Harry just shrugged. "It really is her… there was an accident… as for Ron… we don't know. He left us just before Christmas. He got mad one night, yelled at both of us, walked out of our camp and apparated…"

"Hav-have you talked to Madam Pomfrey?" Ginny asked her eyes never moving from the green giantess.

Hermione nodded. "We just saw her, up in the Headmaster's office with Hagrid… She wants to see me as soon as we are finished here."

Ginny slowly nodded, then turned toward Harry. "And Ron?"

Harry sagged. "We don't know… we were hiding out in a forest… and got into an argument," he said quietly. "We were running out of food, we were exhausted and frustrated… And you know how he is… he started yelling... saying that it was useless and he wanted to give up... go home. He wanted Hermione to go with him," he said squeezing her hand as he spoke.

Hermione nodded. "When I told him no I was going to stay with Harry and finish what we began… he stormed out and apparated away…"

Ginny's eyes filled with tears. "You just let him leave?" she asked.

"We tried to stop him Gin. We really did," Harry said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I hope that he's alright… and we never heard his name on the Wizarding wireless so there is hope he's ok."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Mum and Dad haven't written me about him… maybe he went home?"

"I hope so Gin," Harry said.

Hermione glanced at her wrist. "He'll be here any time Harry, we need to get downstairs."

Harry nodded. "Come on you two. You won't believe this!" he said heading toward the front entrance.

* * *

Steve and Minerva were still standing in the middle of the Ravenclaw common room as the final few students were passing by.

"Was it really necessary for them to give up their wands?" Minerva asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," Steve replied, keeping a careful eye out as they passed. "For a couple of reasons. First, other than a few named individuals, we have no idea who we can trust. Be it from choice or by coercion, any of these students could be dangerous. Second, we will be transporting all in tight quarters, in flying crafts, so it will be for their own safety as well."

Minerva nodded sadly. "After we are done here we will move on to the Hufflepuffs, Slytherin will be the last, and the most difficult."

Steve nodded. "That is what Harry expects, we will want all of the transports on the ground and the others loaded before we deal with them. They will be on a ship of their own and under guard by myself and two other agents. We will transport them and return as quickly as possible."

"You are expecting trouble?" she asked.

He smiled. "Actually we are counting on it."

Somehow that didn't set her mind at ease in the least.

* * *

Neville stood wide eyed as the armored form of Ironman descended on twin pillars of flame.

"WHAT IS THAT?" cried Neville, over the whine of the turbines.

"Not what, who!" said Harry, as Tony cut his jets and fell the last six inches to the ground. "Neville, Ginny, meet the one, the only IRONMAN!"

Tony's face plate flipped open revealing his face. "If you had told me I needed to make an entrance I could have done a heck of a lot better than that!" he said with a scowl.

Ginny's mouth hung open. "There's someone in there?"

Tony broke out into a grin. "Of course there is or did you miss the 'man' part of IronMAN?"

Hermione shook her head. "Be nice Tony, JARVIS close his helmet again and keep his mouth from embarrassing him."

"He-!" he began as the faceplate snapped shut and his voice went silent.

After a few seconds of silence, the faceplate opened again. "Why is my AI taking orders from you?" Tony asked, with an angry look on his face.

"He likes me better than you," she said simply, as she turned and walked inside the castle.

"He likes Pepper better too…" he mumbled, following.

Both Neville and Ginny turned away from them toward Harry. "And just what was that?" Ginny asked.

"One of our new friends," Harry said gesturing toward the building. "They are going to help with our Tom problem… By the way how is Luna holding up this year?"

* * *

A thundering explosion shook the Slytherin common room, as what once had served as the door flew across the room and shattered against the fireplace, just below the painting of their founder.

The young blond man grabbed toward his wand and tumbled out of his bed as the door to his room exploded inward.

"Knock, knock Ferret!" said a male voice, as two figures stepped through the swirling dust.

Draco Malfoy scrambled to his knees, his long sleep shirt tangling around them as he did. "Potter…" he growled. "So you finally decided to show your face! When my fath-"

"I hope he does hear about this Ferret! I want to have words with him as well!" Harry yelled back.

" _Diffindo!_ " Malfoy yelled, pointing his wand.

Only for Harry's wand to suddenly appear in his hand and with a flick send the incoming spell off at an angle to impact the wall.

" _Expelliarmus,"_ Harry growled, and a beam as wide as Harry's arm shot out of his wand to impact the blond, lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the wall, his wand tumbling through the air away from him.

Hermione reached him first and lifted him up by the neck, till he was barely able to support his weight on his tiptoes. "Where is she?" she hissed.

Malfoy's eyes grew wide as he finally focused on the sight in front of him.

"Wha-? Who?" he stammered.

"LUNA!" she said with a harsh tone. "Where. Is. SHE!"

"Lun-?" he gasped. "Lovegood?"

"Yes ferret! Luna Lovegood!" Harry snapped. "She didn't come back to Hogwarts after the Christmas break! We want to know where she is!"

"Wh- Why ask me!" he yelled. "What in Merlin's name are you!" he continued as he began to struggle.

She pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back again. "Your worst nightmare!" she said. "Where? I'm losing my patience! If you don't answer me soon we may just see how you like not having your wand arm!" She grabbed his right arm for emphasis.

His eyes widened, whatever this green troll was she was huge and strong! He had no doubt she was able to do as she said. "Malfoy Manor! She's at Malfoy manor!"

With a flip of her wrist she threw him toward the door, sending him out of the prefects' room and into the hall beyond.

"Get him away from us!" Harry said to the figures of the professors outside.

"Malfoy Manor… that figures…" Hermione said in a low tone. "We have no idea where it even is!"

Harry slammed his hand into the bedpost, shattering it.

The room was silent for a long moment before Harry began to chuckle, and in a moment more it had become a full blown belly laugh.

" _We_ may not know where Malfoy Manor is, but we do know someone who does!" He cackled, leaving Hermione looking confused.

"Dobby! I need you!" Harry said.

A small pop came from near Harry's feet. "The great Harry Potter be calling for Dobby?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 16**

Harry watched as several more Slytherins were loaded into the remaining Quinjet, unconscious, like most of the others. Some of them had almost been funny to watch, like the look on Zabini's face when the curses he had thrown bounced of Cap's shield, as he continued to calmly walk forward, the teen had continued casting until Cap was able to just simply reach out and pluck the wand out of his fingers.

Others had been much more pathetic, like when Crabbe tried to hit Tony only for his hand to break against the faceplate that snapped shut before he could make contact.

Pansy had even tried her luck against Natasha, only to be knocked unconscious by her Widow's Bite before her wand was fully grasped.

"Is that the last of them?" he asked, feeling impatient.

Steve nodded. "That's it, Ms. Pomfrey has made sure they were all given a dose of sleeping draught just in case. I will go along to watch them." He turned his gaze from the remaining bodies being placed in the jet. "I know you're anxious to help your friend, as soon as they are on their way you will be able to go with them and plan things."

Harry took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "You're right, I can't keep charging in without thinking…" He looked down at his hands. "That cost Sirius his life..."

Steve cut him off. "Harry thinking like that isn't going to help anything. You tried your best to get help, you tried to talk to your professors, and even tried to contact Sirius directly. There is enough fault there to pass around… probably more than a small amount of that can be laid at the hands of Snape."

Harry looked at him, the question he had evident on his face. "Harry, how long did it take for you to fly to London?"

Understanding dawned across his face, "Almost three hours…" he growled.

Steve nodded. "That's faster than I would have thought... but still more than enough time for him to contact someone… But now is not the time to think about that," he said pulling the man's attention back to him. "We can deal with him later."

Harry took another breath, and nodded. "Alright Steve, I understand. Luna now, Snape later."

"Good," the man said. "Tony is going to stay here with Bruce until I get back, just in case. You two could stay with them... Instead of checking out the manor house... "

Harry shook his head. "We need to be there… if something was to happen before you can get there, she doesn't know or trust any of you... and I don't know if she would recognize Hermione now... Though she may... that girl is full of surprises."

Steve nodded. "If that happens fine, but you need to remember we will be better off if we do this as a team."

* * *

A lone figure stood perched on a ledge overlooking the manor house. Bow held loosely in his hand, Clint keyed his mike as he adjusted his high-tech goggles. "Looks like it's still all quiet, everyone in position?"

Several "Yes" answers came over his ear piece.

"Alright, Tony you ring the bell, while the big guy and Hermione knock. On my mark."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy sat bolt upright in his bed as the wards flared, not only sending a jolt through him but also setting the gong alarm in the main hallway of Malfoy Manor into a constant crash of sound. His eyes widened in horror, whatever had happened had caused the perimeter wards to come crashing down all at once.

His home was defenseless!

"Narcissa!" he bellowed, as he threw back the covers and grabbed for his wand. Before he reached his bedroom door the manor shuddered, as if impacted by some tremendous force, accompanied by the sound of an explosion and a thunderous bestial roar.

'Has one of the giants found its way here?' he thought jerking the door open, as the door across from his did likewise.

"Lucius? What's happening!" demanded his wife, as she strode into the hallway wand in hand.

"I don't know!" he said. "Find your sister! Whatever it is, we end it now!" he snarled, and stormed down the hallway.

Narcissa's eyes followed him for a moment, as he headed into the rising dust coming from the stairwell. She knew full well where her sister was, in her room in the other wing of the home… entertaining. She shuddered at the thought, but she did as she was bid, and started making her way there, pulling her robe closed around her.

* * *

Harry ran, keeping pace with Cap, and watched as a blur of gold and crimson passed them both and made its way toward the back of the manor. "Merlin! She's fast!"

Cap chuckled. "Seem's she hasn't lost a step in all of these years…" he said shaking his head. "No time for that right now, focus on the mission."

Harry nodded as Cap spoke again. "I want you under that cloak of yours before we are inside, then keep behind us and guard our backs. All of their attention should be towards the front of the building, so we'll stay away from the sounds of battle, go room by room, going down first if we can. Once we find your friend, we get her out."

Harry nodded again, reaching towards his back and the larger pouch hidden there by his coat, pulling out a silvery liquid garment. "Right, I'll yell if I see anything."

* * *

Lucius skidded to a halt at the top of the now missing staircase, eyes wide at the scene below. The entire wall, at least twenty feet high and twice that wide, was simply missing from his family's home, and in the center of his polished granite entryway stood a pair of green colored trolls.

The male, there was no missing that, the monster stood dressed only in what appeared to be some form of purple breeches, was hoisting an impossibly large hunk of what had once been his grand staircase high above its head, only to throw it toward the wall where the female seemed to be pointing.

He watched mouth agape as the chunk of staircase smashed through the wall leading into the reception room, scattering more stone and crushing his banquet table.

The female troll spoke. "Not bad… distance could have been better. This time let's see if you can get the next hunk out of the house. What do you say Hulk?"

The male troll gave her a vicious smile. "SMASH!" And grabbed the next chunk.

* * *

Tony chuckled at what was coming over the coms as JARVIS spoke. "Sir, I have finished mapping the mansion. There are seven other heat sources inside, one has just entered the area, upstairs, where Ms. Hermione and Dr. Banner are at present. One is moving away from that same area toward the south wing. Three of the remaining signatures are coming _from_ the south wing, one headed toward the back staircase, and two are in the basement."

Tony glanced at the now complete wireframe of the building. "Cap you have incoming! One person, coming down the staircase from your right about thirty feet! Hermione someone's at the second floor landing!"

Harry glanced over his shoulder only to see a blur of gold spin around the corner and up the staircase, a moment later a head bounced down the stairs. "Greyback…" he whispered as it came to a stop.

"Did you know him?" Cap asked, as the gold blur reappeared.

Spitfire tapped the head with her foot, setting it spinning. "Fenrir Greyback… Werewolf… He was a pedophile, and loved to infect children."

Harry nodded. "He infected one of my father's best friends, Remus Lupin when he was nine…"

Cap grimaced. "Alright, let's get back on track," he said leading the way down the stairs. "Tony? Clint? Anything?"

Clint's voice came over the radio. "Nothing yet, but the wards are completely down, I can see the manor without the goggles, the discharge lit up the area for miles, it won't be long till someone comes to find out what's going on."

"Right," Cap replied. "Tony get Fury to derail the responders. We don't want law enforcement or anyone else caught up in this."

"He's already working on it," Tony answered. "And I'm monitoring chatter just in case."

"Good," Cap said, stepping off the stairs and into the darkness of the basement.

* * *

When Hermione heard Tony say someone was upstairs she turned to face them; when she saw who it was her face twisted into a terrifying rictus of a smile. "Hello Lucius!" she snarled, then leaped.

Lucius stumbled backward, falling on his backside, as the female creature turned to face him, gathered herself and leaped the full distance to land within an arm's reach of him. Scrambling backward he raised his wand, only for the creature's hand to flash out and wrap around his hand and wand, twisting both violently till the wand was pointed upward.

"Now none of that, Death Eater," it said. "We can't have you casting any of your nasty little spells, it might make me or my friend… angry. And you wouldn't like us when we're angry." She began squeezing his hand.

Lucius gasped, and then cried out as he felt the bones in his hand begin to break. When she released him both his hand and wand were useless.

"Now where can I put you to keep you out of trouble…" she said as she leaned over, grabbed him by his nightshirt, and dragged him behind her as she leaped down.

* * *

Tony kept his eyes on the red blips within the wire frame. "Cap… the two down with you aren't moving… they're about forty yards to your left," he said glancing back up towards the group of three on the second floor. "The other three are together…" He watched as two of the figures disappeared, leaving one standing in the hallway for a moment, before it too disappeared.

"They're gone," he said. "Hermione, drop him, Nat will take him! You get back with the Big Guy! Let's get this done and get out of here."

Hermione glanced down at the unconscious man, and let him collapse boneless on the entry way floor. "Alright, but I want words with him when we are done!"

Natasha gathered the man up in a fireman's carry. "We all do!" she said before running back out the opening that once housed the front door.

* * *

Harry ran over to the small blond girl that was huddled in the corner. "Luna!" he said, slipping the cloak off and sliding next to her.

"Harry…" she said weakly.

"Shhhh…." he soothed, "It's me… Hermione is here too. We're going to get you out of here."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Harry Potter."

"If we had known, we'd have been here sooner…" he said softly.

She nodded her head in the crook of his neck. "Harry, Mr. Olivander is here too…"

He stood holding her bridal style. "It's alright, we'll get him out as well."

* * *

Hermione stepped up next to the Hulk. "It's about time to bring the house down. Are you ready?" she asked.

The hulk gave her a smirk, threw his head back and let loose a roar that made the building shudder.


	17. Chapter 17

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 17**

Harry held the small blond's fragile looking body close to his as he shifted in his seat on board the Quinjet. "Luna, hold on. We'll have you to someone that can help you soon," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice.

"Can you help Daddy Harry?" she said softly. "He's been alone such a long time."

"Where would he be Luna?" he asked.

"At home, The Rookery, our house…" she replied. "I heard them talking a few weeks ago… they destroyed his press, for the Quibbler, and kidnapped me to make him help set a trap for you. Our house is near the Weasley's, just down the road."

Harry nodded. "We'll try…" That was the best they could do, it was possible he was already dead, and they had little time remaining before they needed to begin the second phase.

* * *

Voldemort looked down at the still quivering form of Narcissa Malfoy, as the lasting effects of his 'Crucio' made her muscles twitch. "Wormtail! Take some of the others. I want to know what happened!" His red eyes blazed with anger. "And find out where Greyback is! He was supposed to be at the manor as well!"

"Yes, Master," The lumpy smaller man said bowing deeply, then scurrying toward the door.

* * *

Harry looked down at his hands as they approached the Burrow from the orchard. "Do you think we are still keyed to the wards?" he whispered.

Hermione nodded. "Most likely. Clint, Nat, can the two of you stay here till we come get you? And keep an eye out for us."

Clint smiled and slipped his goggles back on. "Not a problem kid, I'll let you know if anything is going on. Go get you friends."

The teens smiled at the pair of spies. "Harry give me your cloak… at least till we can explain."

Harry's hand slipped behind him and pulled out the silvery liquid looking piece of cloth. Taking it quickly Hermione wrapped it around her shoulders disappearing from sight as she flipped the hood over her head.

Clint whistled softly. "She's completely invisible! Even to the advanced optics…" he said fiddling with the display knobs. "That's amazing!"

"Family heirloom," Harry said, as he began to walk forward. "If you're both good, I'll see if I can find you something like it after this is all over."

The Widow watched the spot that Hermione had been standing in moments before, and saw the grass move as the girl turned to follow Harry. "It is not perfect," she commented gesturing toward the trail left in the grass. "But it would be very helpful."

Harry tiptoed toward the impossible home in the distance, a ramshackle of odd shapes that could only be held together by magic. It was, if he was honest, more of a home to himself than any other, including Hogwarts. A place filled with laughter and love, something he had only known very little of.

As he stepped through the garden gate a voice called from inside. "Stop where you are! Identify yourself!" it said.

"It's me Mr. Weasley, Harry," Harry called back.

"What did I pull you to the side and talk to you about just before your third year?" the voice asked.

"Sirius Black…" Harry said. "What is your favorite thing to collect?" he challenged back.

"Muggle plugs!" said the voice as the door opened and Mr. Weasley stepped outside, but keeping his wand trained on the younger man.

"Who else is with you Harry?" Arthur asked, as Harry walked slowly forward.

"A friend," said a whispering voice, as the wand was plucked from the older wizard's fingers.

"Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"Hi, Mr. Weasley. Can we go inside?" she asked, "We need to be quick, we don't have much time."

"Yes, right, come in you lot!" he said.

* * *

Harry found himself engulfed in a hug from the Weasley matriarch. "Oh, Harry we've been so worried! You've grown so much! And these clothes! Wherever did you find them? How are Hermione and Ron? Why aren't they with you?" she asked at a frantic pace.

"It's good to see you too…" he said, and for the first time not gasping for air after one of the woman's hugs. "As for Hermione… she's here too… But you need to know, before you see her, there was an accident… she looks different."

Both of the older magicals' eyes widened. "Oh! The poor dear!" Molly said gasping, her hand over her mouth.

Hermione removed the cloak, and stood to her full seven foot height. "It's good to see you both," she said with a sad smile, rubbing her arms nervously and all the while praying inside that they wouldn't reject her.

Molly's and Arthur's eyes widened as they took in the jade green giantess their daughter in all but blood had become. "Merlin!" they both gasped.

Arthur approached her slowly. "W-what happened?" he asked taking her hand in his, noting that his was now the smaller of the two.

"It's a long story," she said softly. "One we don't have time for at the moment… We need to get you out of here."

Molly stepped forward and hugged the nervous girl. "It's okay, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out how to help you… Was it some form of potion? Or possibly a spell?" she asked.

Hermione stepped out of the hug. "Madam Pomfrey is willing to look into it, but that will be later. At the moment we need to get you away from here, and to safety. Now."

Arthur shook his head. "We can't leave… to do so would put Ginny in even worse danger than she is in at Hogwarts, they've been keeping watch."

Harry smiled. "She'll be fine sir, we've already got her and the others out of Hogwarts, it's empty now. They're all safe."

"So that's where Ron is? With Ginny?" Molly asked. She glanced at her family clock, where all of the hands had said 'Mortal Peril' before she had gone to bed the night before. However now one hand was different, Ginny's hand pointed toward 'away'.

"Arthur! Look!" she exclaimed. "She's safe! The clock's still working!"

Arthur's face broke into a wide grin. "Thank Merlin!" His face sank for a moment, "If Ron is with her… why isn't his hand reacting the same way?"

Harry stiffened, and moved next to Hermione taking her hand in his. "We -" he began, only to falter. "We don't know where Ron is…"

They both turned towards them, the question plain on their faces. "He- He left us," Hermione squeezed his hand as he continued, "Just before Christmas… We tried to stop him, but he was so angry and frustrated… He was beyond our wards and gone before we could talk some sense into him…"

Tears fell down Molly's face, as she clutched at her husband's chest. "Shhhh… Molly, think, he's still alive. His hand is still on the clock… So we know that much…"

Harry nodded and placed a hand on Molly's shoulder. "They would have already been here if they knew about the ghoul taking his place instead of the illness, Spattergroit, keeping him out of school this year."

"I do hope you're right Harry but where could he have gone?" she cried. "Why didn't he come home?"

"I don't know Mollywobbles…" Arthur said, pulling her in tighter. "He probably thought that he couldn't keep up the ruse of being sick. While they don't hurt the ghoul those boils and pustules could be painful to him…"

Molly nodded. "Could he have gone to Muriel's?" she asked.

Arthur looked up at Harry, who shook his head. There is no way he would have gone there, it was the one place he disliked more then the Hogwarts library!

Arthur sagged a little. "No… I don't think so… Maybe Bill's… He wouldn't go to the twins, they are living at the Alley over their shop… and Bill's is under Fidelius… he must have gone there…" he said.

Harry nodded, that made some sense, "We'll look into it but for now, we need to get you out of here, time is getting short. Leave everything you can, we need to go."

The older couple nodded slowly and broke their hug. "Alright Harry. Where are you taking us?" he asked.

"Someplace you'll be safe," Harry said. "I promise. We'll talk more tomorrow, but we still have work to do tonight."

Five minutes later they were on their way out of the Burrow, each carrying a box and Molly's clock tucked safely under Hermione's arm.

* * *

Harry stood next to Natasha, looking at one of the oddest homes he had ever seen. "Luna called it the Rookery, who knew it would look like a Rook from a chess set," he said.

Natasha shrugged. "After seeing Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor, the Burrow, and now this place, I think it is safe to say wizards have a weird idea of normal."

Harry chuckled and handed her the cloak. "Luna said the wards were minimal here, as they spent most of their time at the Quibbler office. Are you sure about this? I could just try to-"

Natasha shook her head, as she slipped her goggles over her eyes and swept the cloak around her shoulders. "If this is a trap I'm the best choice to go in. Besides I have you and Clint here to watch my back. Stay with him, and do what he says, understand?"

Harry nodded. "Alright, just be careful."

She smiled at him. "I'll be back quick as a wink. Just make sure the Quinjet is fired up."

They watched as the woman disappeared, and then the small depressions left by her feet as she made her way toward the Rookery.

"Wand out Harry." Clint said, as he pulled an arrow from his quiver.

Harry watched the man for a moment, how his entire demeanor changed. No longer was the laughing jokester there, in his place was a professional. A man there to do a dangerous job.

It didn't take long for a figure to appear out the darkness, carrying another figure over her shoulder, crossing the ground in between at a loping run.

"Your turn," Natasha said passing the grey headed man over. "No magic, carry him. I found him unconscious, in front of a dying fire, he's drunk. Let's get out of here."

"Right. Widow, take the lead with Harry," he said. "I'll cover you both."

Harry stowed his cloak and picked up the unconscious Mr. Lovegood. "Right. Let's go."

They hadn't made it more than a few steps when several pops heralded the arrival of a number of wizards.

"Harry! Go!" Natasha growled. "Get him out of here! We'll take care of this!"

The 'thwip' of an arrow punctuated the order, then a buzzing filled the air along with a scream.

Natasha sprinted forward, drawing her handgun and firing two quick shots then watched as the wizard's body jerked and fell where it had stood.

"Last two, don't let them get away!" Clint said firing again.

Dropping to her knee, she fired again. "Mine's down!"

"Mine too!" Clint said stringing another arrow. "Your show, let's check them then get them to make sure, then I want to gather up 'Sparky' over there," Clint said, pointing to the man still twitching on the ground with smoke rising in wisps from his hair.

He chuckled as he retrieved the arrow from next to the body. "Had the boys up the charge after the battle in New York, I was looking for a chance to try it out."

Natasha walked back from checking the final body. "Let's finish up and go. We told them we'd be back in time to start the next phase before dawn."


	18. Chapter 18

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 18**

"Where to Gov?" asked the man in the driver's seat of the taxi.

The pair of red headed men looked at one another then the trio of girls that had crammed into the small black automobile with them, answering at the same time. "We're late for a very important date, St. Pancras Station," they said the phrase exactly the way they'd been told.

The dark skinned man nodded and pulled away from the curb.

"Are you sure about this George?" asked the brunet in the center.

"Of course we are! It was Dad's Patronus and we are doing exactly like he told us! Otherwise the car would not have been there! You'll see! We'll be fine!"

The taxi fell into silence as they sped through the darkness.

They soon pulled up in front of a large stone building. The driver turned to look at them and only then did they notice he was missing an eye. "Your train leaves in thirty five minutes from platform six." He passed one of the girls an envelope. "Inside you will find the appropriate paperwork, passports for each of you, a thousand Euros and your tickets. Use the far right security line, they will have already cleared you. Get on board the train, keep your eyes open and mouths shut, till you are out of the country. You are not to get off or be alone for any reason till you reach Paris. Understood?"

They nodded numbly. "Good! Now go! And good luck!"

* * *

Harry tapped his foot impatiently as he leaned against the tree. "How long?"

Natasha sighed, "Subtract thirty seconds from the last time you asked!" she said trying to keep the aggravation out of her voice. "Our turn will come soon enough, Spitfire and Cap, then Hermione and Tony, then us. We need to give it another three minutes."

Harry nodded, not happy with it and wanting it to be over, and get to someplace they could rest. "It's just… Well, is this the best way to go about this?" he asked.

She nodded. "We need information about what is going on and how they operate, so three different teams will take down three different snatcher teams then interrogate them… that along with the ones we caught at the Lovegood's and the base earlier, should give us a clearer picture."

Harry nodded. "How much do you think they actually know? And will any of it be useful?"

Natasha snickered at that. "Harry, you may just be surprised what they know, and I suspect they would be as well. That holds doubly true given how little we know."

She stood from her crouch and faced him. "They will at the very least be able to help us with numbers, and their organization. They may even know things they do not realize are important, like where the giants, werewolves or vampires are."

Harry nodded. "Alright, fine, I understand. I guess it makes sense."

"Good," she said checking her watch. "Get ready, it's our turn... in 5…4…3…2…1… Voldemort!"

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place?" asked Clint as they circled the coastline for a second time.

The older wizard nodded. "I believe so… You must understand, it looks much different from here in the air at night, and I only saw it the once… but I believe this is the place."

"Alright, I'll land on the beach at the end of that point," he said pointing to a thin finger of land sticking into the ocean. "We'll go on foot from there and JARVIS will take control of the Quinjet."

Arthur nodded. While he didn't understand exactly what Jarvis was, he did seem to be very polite. "Yes, well we had best be off then," he said turning to move to the rear of the jet to exit as they had boarded.

Shortly he was standing on the soft sand of the beach, his arm shielding his face, as the jet lifted into the air and faded from view. "Astounding! You have invented disillusionment for something so large! Muggles! Who would believe it!"

Clint just shook his head. Arthur seemed to be pleasant enough but seemed to know absolutely nothing about the world outside his small world, and was easily distracted.

Clint found that it was best to keep him focused on something he knew. "So, you've known Harry and Hermione for some time?" he asked, leading the man inland along the small peninsula.

"Hmmm…?" Arthur pulled himself away from searching for the Muggle arrowplane in the sky. "Harry and Hermione?" he asked. "Yes quite! Let's see…" He thought as he hurried to catch up. "Seven years now!"

He chuckled. "I didn't meet them till the summer after their first year. Molly met Harry just before he boarded the train when he and Ron were on their way the first time… She didn't know who he was then, just a muggleborn first year having trouble finding the gate you see. Helped him out a bit."

Clint nodded, as his eyes scanned the surrounding terrain listening. "She didn't speak with him long, didn't even get to ask the lad his name!" he said with a chuckle, "Ron sat with him on the train, and they've been fast friends ever since!"

Clint made a non committal sound as they worked their way up a small hill and onto more solid ground. "Hermione soon joined them… the Golden Trio!' he said, voice quieting, "Won't say they didn't have their arguments, Merlin knows! But better friends there have never been!"

Clint came to a halt looking around. "Mr. Weasley, are you sure this is the right place? I don't see…"

"Fidelius, my boy!" the older man said. "This is the place, you wait here. I'll be back in just a tick!" With that the man seemed to vanish into thin air.

Clint drew an arrow and nocked it. "No there is nothing creepy about that! Let's just leave good ol' Hawkeye out here with no idea what the hell is going on! I hate magic!" he grumbled.

* * *

Arthur watched from just inside the wards as the cottage seemed to form out of the very land surrounding it till it was the small home he remembered, a small two story three bedroom, just perfect for a young couple. What surprised him was the fact that there were lights coming from inside and a small plume of smoke rising from the chimney.

Almost immediately the door opened. "Who's there?" asked a voice.

"Arthur Weasley! Bill? Is that you?" he asked.

"What did the twins threaten to send home the year Ron started Hogwarts?" asked the voice.

Arthur chuckled. "Toilet seats! For Ginny as I recall! What does Molly's favorite dress look like?" he asked back.

"Yellow, with a white collar, covered in sunflowers!" A figure stepped out of the door. "Dad? What are you doing here? Did something happen? Is Mum okay? Or was it-"

Arthur cut him off. "They are all fine!" he said rushing up the walkway. "Let's get inside, we haven't much time!"

He was within an arms length when he realized the person in the doorway wasn't his eldest son, but his youngest. "RON! Oh, thank Merlin!" he said gathering the boy up in his arms. "We have been so worried about you!"

"I-I would have come home…" Ron began, only for his father to stop him.

"No time for that now!" he said, pushing him inside. "Where are your brother and Fleur?"

It was Fleur that answered. "Bill will return shortly," she said. "During the night is the best time for him to go and procure the few necessities we need."

Arthur nodded. "Alright, both of you go pack whatever you think you will need, only take what you can carry! I'll wait here for Bill! Go! Now! And pack a bag for Bill as well!"

Ron's and Fleur's eyes grew wide. "We're leaving?" Ron asked stunned.

"As soon as your brother gets back!" he replied. "Hurry now we don't have much time!"

They had only been upstairs a couple of minutes when Bill came in through the door, a large bag in his hands. "Fleur! Someone is just outside the wardlines! He has a bow!"

A masculine voice came from the kitchen. "He's with me son."

Bill startled, almost dropping the bag. "Dad!"

"It's good to see you," he said taking the bag. "Go upstairs, help your wife. We don't have much more time. We need to go."

Bill looked at him for a moment more before nodding and running up the stairs.

* * *

Satisfied that no one was in pursuit, Clint pushed away from the control console leaving JARVIS to follow the programmed flight plan, and headed toward the group of people gathered around the situation table.

"We'll land in just over two hours," he said. "We need to stay low and out of the flight paths as this is not official. Otherwise it would be faster, sorry."

Arthur nodded, just happy his family was safe. "We won't hear from the twins till this afternoon, but they got underway safely."

Ron looked down. "That just leaves Hermi and Harry then…" he said quietly. "And we have no idea where they are…"

Arthur rose from his seat and walked around the small table, kneeling next to his youngest son. "Ron, they-"

"I MESSED UP!" he yelled. "Alright! I know that! I never should have left them!" He pushed his way out of the chair and turned away. "I knew it was a mistake as soon as I did it! But I was…"

He turned back to them, tears rolling down his face. "I was angry… and tired… We were all so tired… cooped up in that tent all the time… I couldn't take it anymore! I tried to find them again! I really did! But… but they weren't there!"

He had started to shake at this point. "Then… then after I found Bill and he took me to their house… I found out this," He placed the 'Putter Outer' on the table, "would let me hear them… and point a direction towards them with its flame… I tried to find them again… It stopped working a few weeks ago… I think…I think they're dead…" His voice collapsed into a sob.

Arthur gathered his son into his arms. "Ron… They're fine," he said softly. "Your mother and I just saw them a few hours ago, at the Burrow."

Ron looked up at him, a look of genuine surprise on his face. "Then they are with Mum? And Ginny?" he asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "No, they are helping their new friends, but they said they will see us in time for breakfast, if everything goes the way they expect."

Ron's face broke into a wide grin. "They're alright though?" he asked.

Arthur sighed. "Ron you will need to prepare yourself… Some things have happened and…"

Ron looked horrified. "Oh Merlin, they were hurt! Is Hermi okay? What about Harry?"

"Calm down son!" Arthur said. "There was some form of accident… They really haven't explained it to us as of yet, but Hermione looks quite different at the moment."

Ron's look of concern changed in an instant, to one of anger. "If Harry let something happen to her I'll-"

"You'll do what Ron?" said his father glaring down at the boy. "You were the one that left them! He has done nothing wrong, and been nothing but supportive of her since the accident!"

"But he let her get hurt!" Ron blurted.

"It was an accident!" Arthur replied. "She said so herself! Madam Pomfrey hasn't even had a chance to look her over yet! So we don't even know if she can do something for her as of yet!"

Ron looked down, and drew in a deep breath. "Alright! I'm sorry… It's just… I'm worried about her."

Arthur sighed again. "Ron, I think you had best prepare yourself. I know you fancy Hermione, but things have changed for the pair of them since you left." He lifted the boy's chin till he was looking him in the eye. "They have had to lean on each other heavily, during that time and may have developed feelings for one another."

He could see the anger seep back into his youngest's eyes. "He has been with her during something that would be hard for the strongest of people, and has not only been a friend, and supportive, but encouraging as well. He genuinely likes the woman she has become and does not mind the changes she has had to go through in the least, and truthfully Ron, I don't know if you could have done the same."

Ron looked at him incredulously. "Of course I could!" he snapped, going back to his seat and dropping heavily into it.

"We'll see," Arthur said quietly. "We'll see."

* * *

Harry stepped of the loading ramp and stretched. "I feel like I could sleep for a week," he said, falling into place and walking next to Natasha.

"Go eat something first, then sleep," she said. She pointed towards Hermione disembarking her own Quinjet. "Take her with you, we'll take care of the prisoners."

He looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, see you there." He paused for a moment, "You want me to make your usual?" he asked.

She nodded. "That would be great. Thanks."

"Not a problem," he said, jogging away.

"Breakfast Hermione?" Harry asked as he slowed next to her.

She nodded. "I want a shower first. One of those snatchers got off a flame curse… Now my hair smells like smoke… make an omelet for me?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'll start Nat's first that will give you a little more time."

"I won't be long," she said turning down a hallway.

When he made it to the kitchen he had to stop and smile, all of the Weasleys, save the twins and Charlie, were present and talking animatedly, while the matriarch cooked behind the stove.

Ginny was the first to see him, with a cry of, "Harry!" she was out of her seat and on her way to hug him.

Only for Ron to block her path before she could make it. "Where is she!" he almost growled.

Harry's head tilted to the side slightly in confusion. "Hermione?" he asked.

Ron's ears reddened. "Yes! Hermione! Where is she?" he snarled.

Harry shrugged. "Down the hall," he said thumbing the direction. "She wanted a shower…"

Ron tried to brush past him, only to find Harry's hand grabbing his arm. Trying to jerk away he ended up spun towards him, for the first time realizing that Harry stood almost a head taller than he did now, and the grip on his arm felt like iron.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said.

"Well you aren't me!" Ron yelled. "Let me go!"

"Ron!" Harry said squeezing his arm enough to make the boy wince. "She is taking a shower! If she could lay Malfoy out in one punch when she was a 'little angry' what do you think she would do to you now if you barged in on her in the shower?"

Ron's eyes widened, and he stopped trying to pull away. "Fine!" he said, "But I want to know what happened to her! They told me she had some kind of accident, and she looks different now…"

Harry sighed. "Yeah, well… That's true… Look," he said. "It's a long story, and I promised her breakfast when she got out of the shower. Let me do that, and we'll tell you everything when she gets done."

Ron nodded slowly, as Harry released him and headed toward the stove.

"If this is something that Madam Pomfrey can't fix I'm holding you responsible Potter!" Ron said from behind him.

Harry whirled toward him gathering his shirt in his clenched fist and lifting the terrified boy off the floor. "And where were you when it happened Ron?" he yelled. "Where were you when we were starving? Where were you when the forest exploded around us? Where were you when-"

"Harry!" yelled Steve, as he stepped through the door. "Put him down!"

Harry's eyes never left Ron's as he slowly lowered him. "You ran out on us! Remember? And if this is something that Madam Pomfrey can't fix, or she chooses not to have it fixed, so be it! I don't care! Because I happen to like the changes, and haven't seen her this happy in a long time! So you need to shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"

Steve put a hand on his shoulder, pulling Harry's eyes to his. "Let his shirt go Harry."

Harry glared at him for a moment, then his head swiveled back to Ron. "If you do anything to make her cry again Ron, I swear you will wish a troll had found you instead of me!" he said giving him enough of a push to send him sprawling.

He turned away and walked toward the stove, taking a deep breath. "I've got to make breakfast. Keep him away from me for a while."


	19. Chapter 19

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 19**

Hermione was still drying her hair with a plush white towel as she stepped into the dining hall, having finished her quick shower and put on her duplicate uniform. A smile crossed her lips, unseen beneath the damp cloth, as the smell of breakfast reached her nose.

'There's nothing quite as good as one of Harry's omelets in the morning,' she thought, pushing the towel back around her neck, and finally taking a look around the room.

The first thing she noticed was that Tony was still in his armor, followed shortly by the fact that the other Avengers were scattered strategically around the room, with Steve being within arm's reach of Harry, his shield still upon his arm.

'Ok…' she thought, watching Harry as he moved jerkily at the stove, anger pinching his face. 'What the hell happened here?' she wondered.

Her eyes searched the area again. 'Bruce isn't here…' she thought absently. 'He must have decided to be elsewhere given the tension in the room.'

She took stock of the only others in the room at that point, the Weasleys who seemed to be intently discussing something in hushed tones except for the two youngest. One of which was watching Harry's every move behind the counter, her eyes narrowed in concern and worry; the other not paying attention to much of anything as he shoveled another fork full into his mouth, even as eggs and sausage rolled off the overloaded implement and out of his already full mouth.

'Ugh…' she thought, as he jammed the fork into his mouth. 'Well, some things still haven't changed…"

She moved toward Tony and leaned down, whispering in the earpiece of his helmet. "Tony? What happened?" she asked.

"Harry and your buddy, Ron, happened princess," he replied quietly with his helmet's modulated voice. "He blames Harry for your getting hurt, and the changes you have undergone."

Hermione stood up shaking her head. "Wonderful…" she said softly.

"Steve stopped him before it was more than just words," Tony said, turning his back towards the young man in question. "As soon as it was over and his mother put a plate in front of him…"

She nodded. "…and he's been eating ever since…" she said with no small amount of sadness in her voice. "You'd think he'd have grown up some over the last seven years, but he is the same aggravating, short tempered, bottomless mouth he's been since I met him."

He looked up at her eyes, and the depth of the sadness held there. "Not the greatest way to talk about one of your best friends," he said.

She sighed, shifting slightly, her discomfort showing. "Tony…" she began, then stopped, wringing the ends of her towel. "He is a good friend… He has been with us through a lot… a lot more than most people could ever stand," she began again, "and at one time…" She glanced over Tony's shoulder toward the object of their discussion, shaking her head. "At one time, I thought he could be more… but he has no real interest in learning… changing… growing."

A small tear moved down her face as her attention moved back to Tony. "I was willing to stay…" She paused. "I wanted to stay… in the wizarding world… It was the only place I ever felt I belonged… felt wanted."

She wiped her eyes with the edge of her towel. "The Weasleys… they are like family to me… and to Harry… I wanted to be a real part of that family so badly, that I…" She smiled at him softly. "I would have given anything to be part of it… I even considered…" She gestured towards the person in question.

"But I learned something in New York," she said, taking a deep cleansing breath and looking around at the room, at the other Avengers. "I can fit someplace else too!"

Tony's faceplate flipped open, a smile matching hers covering his face. "Never doubt that Muscles!"

She nodded, pulling him into a tight hug, letting go when she heard the metal of his suit creak, and an alarm sound inside. "Thanks Tony."

"No problem kiddo," he said.

* * *

Harry placed a plate on the counter. "Breakfast is done people, pick them up!" he said, looking up and towards the door.

Steve picked up two of the plates, as did Natasha, and Clint moved to do likewise, followed by Harry carrying his own and Hermione's.

Sitting down, Harry looked at the plate blankly, before taking a bite.

"Where is she?" asked the angry redhead, pushing away from his now empty plate and standing.

" _SHE_ ," said Hermione, "Is right here Ron!"

Ron's eyes grew wide as the seven foot tall jade green woman stood, towering over every person in the room. "Her- Hermi?"

Her face screwed up in aggravation. "I have asked you not to call me that name! Repeatedly!" she said stalking toward him, finger wagging at him. "And do you listen? No! Well you know what RONALD? That will be the last time! Do you understand me?"

The stunned young man waggled his head in the affirmative. "Her- Hermione? What happened to you?" he asked. "H- How? What? W-What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

She sighed. "I haven't spoken with her yet..." she began.

"W-we need to see her now then!" he said relief apparent on his face. "She's got to be able to do something about this!" he continued, grabbing her hand. "We've got to get you back to normal as soon as possible!"

She jerked her hand out of his, before he could even try to lead her out of the room. "I don't have time right now, Ronald!" she said sternly. "I need to eat, then get some sleep! I've been awake almost thirty hours as it is! Then we need to get back to work on the Deatheaters! Once that is finished I'll think about seeing her! Not before!"

She turned and sat next to Harry, ready to eat. "B-but Hermi!"

She leapt to her feet, and grabbed the metal chair next to her and crushed it into a ball the size of a bludger. "I told you to _STOP_ calling me that, Ronald!" she growled. "My name is Hermione!" She looked at Steve, then Tony and smiled, "Or She-Hulk! Use them!"

She dropped the ball in front of him and his eyes never left it as it clanked once as it landed and rolled across the floor.

"Now do you want to hear our story or not?" she asked, returning to her seat. "If you do sit down, if not leave!"

* * *

"You really can't expect us to believe this? Can you?" yelled Ron as he stood, sending his chair clattering behind him and pointing at the monitor, and looking around at the gathered faces. "Bloody Hell! Are you all daft?" he asked.

"Ron!" his father said, angry.

"No! Dad, this is just some muggle trick!" he screamed. "One of those Mo-vie things! There is no way these people fought off an invasion of things from out in the stars! Or a god! There is no way any of this happened!"

Hermione stood to her full height, towering over the young man. "What about me?" she asked. "I saw it! I saw Loki fighting the Hulk! It happened right in front of me! His spell did this to me!"

Ron glared at her. "Maybe… Maybe they did this _to_ you! Or…"

"Ron," Harry said, joining Hermione. "Believe what you want, but this," he said pointing to the screen, "happened! And they," He pointed toward the Avengers, "stopped it! We both saw it!"

"But- But… It's just not possible!" he said again, as he rubbed his hand through his hair. He sat down heavily in his chair. "It just can't be…" he said as he sagged forward, his head falling into his hands.

Mr. Weasley stood shakily. "I think we could all do with some sleep… If you could show us where to go?"

Clint stood up. "We've got someplace prepared for you if you'll all follow me?" he said.

After the Weasleys had left Harry sank into one of the chairs, exhaustion making itself felt. "That went well," he said in a sarcastic tone.

Natasha sat on the table next to him. "It's a big change for them, Harry," she said.

Steve spun a chair around and sat. "Their view of the world just changed, it's going to take time."

Tony stepped out of his armor, and watched for a moment as it walked on its own out of the room. "They aren't the only ones, we were there and I still have trouble believing it…. I mean Loki is one thing after meeting Pointbreak, but those Chitauri… they were just creepy! And don't even get me started on their Leviathans!" He shuddered. "Or wormholes that lead to other sections of the universe…" he said softly.

Steve nodded. "It will be hard for them, but they had to hear it to be able to understand what happened to you."

Hermione nodded and yawned. "I'm going to bed."

Harry nodded and stood to walk out with her.

Steve shook his head at the smirk on the faces of both Tony and Natasha, as Spitfire spoke. "I thought you said she wasn't his girlfriend?"

* * *

Steve looked up as Natasha walked in. "So?"

She shrugged. "Piece of cake," she said, tossing the folder on the table. "He is slowly massing for a strike against Hogwarts, the only thing keeping him distracted has been the fact that Harry was still missing. He's obsessed."

Steve nodded. "Alright, we need to start the next phase as soon as everyone is rested and ready to go… How are the kids?" he asked leaning back in his chair.

"Good, they're anxious to get going," she said, with a shrug. "I can't blame them, they want this over."

"What are we going to tell them after it's done?" Steve asked.

Natasha leaned on the edge of the desk. "You know that they have their sights on being Avengers now?"

Steve sighed. "Of course! But they have their entire lives in front of them!" he said waving his arm. "They need to finish their education, maybe go to college…" his voice trailed off.

"Or they will need to be trained… " she said. " _If_ that is what they want. Steve, whatever they do, it will be their choice, not yours, not mine, but theirs. All we can do is talk to them, offer them advice."

Steve sighed. "Yeah, you're right… I… I was just hoping…"

She smiled softly. "That they might have better luck than you and Peggy?"

He looked up at her, his eyes filled with sadness.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "If you feel that way Steve, tell them your story. They're smart kids, mature for their age, and they respect you. They'll listen. But I don't think either one of them can walk away completely," she said with a sigh.

"You're right," Steve agreed. "Hermione called it Harry's 'saving people thing'…"

"I think she has picked up the same habit," she said with a chuckle.

Steve inclined his head. "So it seems… So we make sure they have the tools… continue to help them develop their skills and refine them."

Natasha nodded. "Sounds like a plan."


	20. Chapter 20

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 20**

Harry looked around at the grounds of the ancient castle. "I used to think of this as my true home…" he said.

Spitfire nodded as Hermione gave his hand a squeeze. "I did too Harry."

"But now…" he said as his eyes found the window of the Headmaster's office high on the wall overlooking Black Lake, "now it just seems… so small somehow…"

Spitfire stood next to the young couple for a moment letting the sight settle in their minds. "Harry," she said finally, "You'll find many things like that will happen over the years. As you change and your perspective changes, the luster something once had is lost to the passing of time. It means you've changed, grown, become something more than you were before."

She turned towards them. "But now is not the time for contemplation; we need to take our positions. I'm sure our message has been delivered by now and they will be coming soon."

Harry nodded. "Alright," he said, making a final check of his equipment and making sure he had everything.

With a flicker of gold and crimson the blond woman disappeared into the distance, leaving the two teens alone for the moment. "I won't be far Harry… are you sure about this?" she asked, a nervous tremor in her voice.

"Yeah..." he replied, "I am. He wants me, and if he thinks I'm here alone it will give us a better chance to surprise him… You dropped him off at the phone booth right?"

"Yeah, I dialed it myself and watched him disappear before I came back," she said. "If…"

"I know," he said pulling her close. "If it looks wrong, or looks like too much, I'll give the word…"

They stood like that for a short time, till they finally let each other go.

"I'll see you when it's over Harry," she said softly.

"You can count on it Hermione," he said, as she turned and walked towards the darkness surrounding the castle.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had always been a proud man, proud of his family name, proud of his status, proud of his accomplishments in the name of his Lord. He felt himself the epitome of what a pureblood wizard should be!

However the confused, babbling and addled thing that was making its way across the floor of the building that had once been the home of the wizarding government, the Wizengamot, could scarcely be recognized as Lucius Malfoy any longer.

While he looked much the same, he twitched and jumped at the smallest of sounds, and when someone called his name after recognizing him he let loose with a shriek, collapsed on the floor in a ball that scuttled away till he had backed itself into a corner of the room.

"Out of the way!" said a loud voice from behind the crowd that had gathered.

Thomas Rowle had known Lucius since they were boys, even before they first arrived at Hogwarts, as their families had been quite close, politically speaking at any rate.

Thomas's stomach turned at the smell pouring off the man as he knelt. "Malfoy!" he said. "Get a hold of yourself!"

He got no response, other than gibberish, so he tried again. "Malfoy!" … "Lucius!" he tried then, grabbing the man, only for him to scream incoherently and lash out knocking Thomas back and off his feet.

Quickly drawing his wand he stunned the now raging man.

"Take him downstairs, and put a calming draught in him!" Thomas told the men behind him. "Our Lord will want to know what happened to him!"

* * *

Thomas stormed his way out of the room where Malfoy had been placed, and made his way towards his Lord's audience chamber. Pausing only briefly to compose himself he entered.

The room had once been the Wizengamot's meeting chamber, but now served as Lord Voldemort's throne room. Near where he entered several others had congregated, but had not dared to move any closer. Opposite them sat the Dark Lord himself in all his terrifying glory and next to him stood the only Death Eater he ever allowed within arms reach, his enforcer Bellatrix LeStrange.

"Rowle? I trust you bring me news?" the sallow skinned man said from deep inside his dark robes.

"I do, my Lord," he said standing straighter.

"Then approach," the voice hissed. "I do not wish to be kept waiting!"

"Y-yes my Lord!" he said and began to walk across the room watching both of them closely as he did. When he reached the center of the room he saw Bellatrix twitch and he stopped moving forward.

Taking a deep breath he began. "Lucius Malfoy was found in the entryway a short time ago!"

"Ah! So he did escape the destruction of the manor…" Voldemort said and his head moved slightly under his robe. "It seems your brother-in-law is more able than you realized my dear."

"It would seem so my Lord," she said, anger plain on her face.

"Bring him to me!" Voldemort said.

"I-I'm sorry my Lord," Thomas said swallowing hard. "He is unconscious at the moment…"

"Explain!" the Dark Lord roared.

"H-he was found in an uncontrollable state!" Thomas blurted, "He didn't seem to recognize anyone! And either attacked or tried to run from anyone present! I had him stunned and given a calming draught, so I could try to make sense of his ravings!"

"And what did he say Rowle?" the Dark Lord asked. "What left one of my circle in such a state?"

"Harry Potter sir!" Thomas almost screamed, "Harry Potter is at Hogwarts!"

* * *

Hermione leaned on the wall next to the red headed woman. "What was in that syringe anyway?" she asked.

Natasha smirked, as she lowered her binoculars. "A little of this a little of that… It was a cocktail the people who trained me cooked up to break enemy agents and make them malleable for intelligence gathering… Think of it as a really bad LSD trip, with post hypnotic elements."

Hermione chuckled darkly. "It couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

* * *

Harry's head snapped up when he heard several small pops from the direction of the village. "Showtime… is everybody ready?"

A chorus of "ready"s answered him over his ear piece.

"Let's do it then…" he said, mostly to himself.

Harry touched his wand to his throat. "Well hello Tom! Nice to see you, and your little club too! Bella dear? Is that you? My aren't we looking divine tonight! Azkaban chic is really you!"

He watched as they gathered around their Lord at the gates, and he began preparing to cast. Harry spoke again. "Just come on in, I hope you don't mind but I had the castle locked down. I thought this would be a splendid place for us to face off! I mean, what better place hmmmm…? Than on the grounds of the place that was more of a home to us than anywhere else?" he said, as the gate clanked loudly and opened.

Tony watched as several blips appeared on his heads up display. "Alright people, we've got multiple signals coming in from two directions. Four read as very large, coming down from the mountains behind the lake… Along with ten… no twelve smaller ones with them, moving the same speed."

"That will be us Bruce," said Hermione. "Giants for you, and I'll cleanup around their ankles! We move as soon as Harry gives the word."

"Ok!" came a reply.

"I count twenty coming in though the forest, moving fast… Spitfire that will be us, I'll knock them down, you clean them up… Nat? You and Legolas ready?"

"Like you had to ask," came back to him over the headset, as he zoomed in on one of the parapets, to watch as the Black Widow settled herself behind her sniper rifle, with Clint nearby also preparing to fire.

"Alright then! Cap you're with Harry," Tony said; a click answered. "Whenever you're ready Harry!"

* * *

Harry watched from the crest of the small hill he was on, as the group of Death Eaters made their way up the pathway towards him, with Voldemort himself in the lead.

"I must say I am impressed with your courage Potter!" the dark clad Lord said as he approached,

"And you look as despicable as always snake face," Harry jibed. "Hiding your face now Tom?"

My name is LORD VOLDEMORT!" the Dark Lord roared, as he threw back his hood. "And you will kneel before me, and beg for the release of death!"

"Ah! There is the disgusting face that I have learned to know and despise!" Harry chided, "But then what's a nose among friends?"

"Potter!" the Dark Lord growled, "I am going to strip the meat from your bones and use it to feed the thestrals!"

"Sorry," Harry said. "I don't think I can oblige with that T-"

A boiling crimson spell smashed into the ground at Harry's feet. "You will address Lord Voldemort correctly Potter!" yelled Bella.

"Oh but I am," Harry said with a smirk. "His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle!" Harry twisted at the waist to dodge another dark colored spell this time from Voldemort.

"That name means nothing to me!" he screamed.

Harry smirked and spoke again just as Voldemort began to cast another spell.

" _Ava-"_

" **Avengers,"**

"- _da Ked-"_

" **Assemble!"**

" _avra!"_

Even as the killing curse erupted from Lord Voldemort's wand, Harry reached out with his right arm and caught the object flying towards him, bringing it between them.

A deep resonant 'thong' rang out from the shield as the spell impacted it and reflected back towards the caster. Tom's eyes widened as he dove out of the way.

He rolled across the ground, gathering his feet under him and looking up just in time to watch Bellatrix's head disappear into a fine red mist.

A roar from overhead drew his attention next, as a pillar of fire dropped from the sky, and erupted into several smaller trails of smoke and fire as it passed by and over the Forbidden Forest.

"What is this Potter?" he snarled, as a roar shook the ground and a green troll stormed out of the darkness near the castle and hurtled into the air towards the mountains while a second troll laughed out loud and rode on its back piggy back style.

"You have your friends, your Death Eaters. These are my friends, the AVENGERS!"


	21. Chapter 21

**_I apologize for the delay but illness has plagued my family for the last few weeks._**

 **Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 21**

Voldemort's head snapped around in rapid movements as he tried to take in the absolute chaos the night had become. First to the series of explosions and screams hidden from view deep within the boundaries of the forbidden forest, then to the newly headless corpse of his second in command, as it slumped forward onto its knees then fell chest first onto the ground with a liquid sounding 'splut'.

His eyes next chased the bounding green skinned troll as it carried its partner ever faster, only to take to the air with a mighty leap that carried the both of them across the entirety of the lake and into the mountains beyond.

His head sprang back to the gathered group of Death Eaters as he felt something wet splash across him, only to see Macnair's executioner axe fall from his now deceased fingers as his body began to fall, sans head.

A shrill whistle brought his attention back to the group, as a slender shaft fell among them, and erupted into a hail of sparks shooting out in random directions, dropping his faithful to the ground in a boneless mass whenever they found their mark.

Anger gripped him, his head swung toward the young man that stood smiling at him behind a shield banded in red and white and topped with a white star on a field of blue in the center, who was smiling widely at him.

"Something the matter Tom?" he asked quizzically. "Or did you just expect me to roll over and play dead?"

"POTTER!" he yelled as he pushed off the ground gathering his feet under him. "You will pay for this! Kill Him!" he roared, brandishing his wand wildly.

"I think they are a touch busy Tom," he said gesturing to the few remaining Death Eaters, that were now engaged in hand to hand combat with the Star Spangled Avenger.

"What?" He turned back toward the teen. "What have you done Potter?"

"I evened the odds Tom!" he replied, as he intercepted Voldemort's next spell with the shield, sending it flying into the sky.

* * *

Tony wheeled in the air, watching as the missiles impacted. "Count?"

"Positive impact on ten targets, Sir." said the cultured voice of JARVIS. "Six of which are currently ablaze."

Tony grumbled. "Payload?"

"We currently have enough for one more such pass," the AI responded.

Tony shook his head. "Okay, keep them ready, just in case… What say we keep their attention on us?" he asked raising his hands and triggering his repulsors, "And off of Spitfire."

"Indeed sir!" JARVIS agreed, as another of the targets lined in red on the heads up display disappeared to a sword in the hand of a blur of gold.

* * *

Hermione heaved the unconscious body of the mountain troll above her head in one fluid motion and sent it careening into one of its brethren, a wild smile on her face, pausing for the briefest of moments before charging towards her next target.

The ground shook under a mighty impact, sending her stumbling, as a deafening roar filled the night air. Glancing in the direction of her companion's cry, she saw him silhouetted against the full moon, arms outstretched in the midst of his roar, while at his feet lay a felled giant.

Her smile widened as she turned back to the trolls who now seemed to cower away from them. "Payback is a bitch!"

* * *

Clint loosed another arrow that impacted one of the Death Eaters below. "Why didn't you just kill him?" he asked.

Natasha adjusted her rifle, her head raised so she could keep an eye on the battle raging below. "For the same reason Steve didn't take him on and leave the others to us and Harry… He needs to do this."

Clint looked down at her, even as he released another shaft. "I thought you didn't buy into that prophecy stuff."

She chucked as she made an adjustment to her scope. "Not a bit. This has nothing to do with that. He needs to do this for himself, for his own piece of mind he needs to be the one to put this particular demon to rest."

Clint nodded; if there was anyone that understood the need to put something like that behind them it was Natasha.

* * *

Voldemort fumed as he went into a flurry of movement, casting spells with a speed that staggered imagination, only to be thwarted as each spell splashed or rebounded after hitting the seemingly impervious shield the boy held.

"I will kill you Potter!" he spat as he pulled his wand away from the barrage and cast a spell towards the lake. "If you can change the odds, so can I!" he yelled.

Harry's eyes went wide as he watched the surface of Black Lake begin to boil. "I do not know what has become of my faithful within the castle but we prepared for your return!"

It took a moment for his mind to make sense of what he was seeing, as shambling mounds began to move forward out of the water towards them.

"Inferi!" Harry said under his breath, as Voldemort's mad cackle filled the air.

"Indeed!" He laughed, as his attention turned back. "However that is just the beginning!" Voldemort said as he sent his Dark Mark into the sky.

A loud chittering came from the far edge of the forest as gigantic spiders began to pour out by the hundreds.

"Before this night is over you and your friends will all be dead, Potter!" the madman chortled as he renewed his assault, "I was going to end your life quickly, painlessly, but now I will watch as the acromantula and inferi tear you limb from limb!"

* * *

Hawkeye's eyes widened as he saw the events unfold below. "What the hell are those things?" he asked no one in particular as he nocked another arrow, and sent it sailing towards the mass of spiders.

"Harry said Inferi… zombies!" Hermione replied. "Burn them!" She grunted in effort as she spoke. "The Hulk… he's still fighting two of the giants! And I've got my hands full with these trolls! I can't get back!"

Natasha racked another round into her rifle and fired again as Steve's voice came over the coms. "Keep fighting, just get back as soon as you can. Tony? I hope you have some of those missiles left! Spitfire! Pull back, let them come to the clearing around the school Nat you back her up, I don't know what a headshot will do to a Vampire, but it's got to slow them down!"

"Roger," Natasha said shifting her position. "Fire? Bring them out next to the caretaker's house on the far side from the lake."

"On my way!" said the woman's voice. "Just try not to shoot me!"

"Clint!" said Cap, "Do what you can to hold off those spiders!"

"On it!" he said, as he thumbed the selector for his next arrow head, nocking it quickly and letting loose the explosive payload. "I've only got three of those left!"

"Noted! Tony! Get over here!" Steve grunted as he smashed his fist into another of the masked Death Eaters. "They are going to overwhelm us if you don't hurry!"

The scream of the Ironman suit's boot jets roared overhead as if in answer. "Keep your shorts on Rogers!" said Tony as he began to fire his repulsors at the mass of figures rising from the depths of the lake. "Alien invasions… Magic… Zombies… Hammer Horror and Giant Mutant Spiders! I had no idea my life was going to become so insane!"

"Welcome to my life!" grumbled Harry, as he weathered the barrage behind Cap's shield. "Ok… Fine! ENOUGH!" he yelled flinging the shield toward Voldemort, whose hastily cast shield spell sent it rebounding towards his actual target, Captain America's outstretched hand.

"I thought you wanted to destroy me with your own hand, Tom!" he yelled as his own wand sprang into his hand, and the first of his own barrage began. "Bombarda!"

Voldemort spun away from the curse, a rictus smile on his face. "You are defenseless now Potter! Without your silly shield! I admit I am impressed that you found something that could withstand my killing curse. You were a fool to throw it away!"

Even as he said the words, he began to realize something was different about this duel. The boy had always been quick, quick enough that in time he may have been able to become a great dueler, but now he was blindingly fast! His wand tip the smallest of blurs hidden by his longer sleeves!

"Avada Kedavra!" Tom yelled.

As Harry's chain of spells reached its end with a cry of "Expelliarmus!"

The magic of the two wands impacted in mid flight and exploded into a cascade of white light that filled the air surrounding them and burst into a pyre towards the heavens.

* * *

"There! Strider! That must be the sign my Uncle spoke of!" said the man sitting astride the pure white pegasus, dressed as a knight. "We must make haste!"

In two short strides the winged horse had taken to the air.

* * *

"You can not win Potter!" yelled Voldemort over the howl of wind around them. "No matter how much you may wish it! I have gone farther down the pathways of immortality than any other! I will never be defeated!"

Harry didn't answer, he just continued to push back against the magical force, keeping all of his focus on that single point. He smiled as the ball where their magic met began to slide slowly towards Voldemort.

Voldemort growled internally, he wished he had never listened to the rumors of the Elder wand! In the end it had turned out to be nothing but another story. If only he had spent the time finding another wand that had worked as well as his! Then this issue of the same wand cores would no longer be an issue!

He watched in disbelief as the mass of energy moved towards him, slowly true, but it was moving. His focus narrowed and the motion stopped. He would not lose to a mere boy!

* * *

Tony wheeled in the sky, lining up for a run across the mass of wet flesh that Jarvis predicted would be the most effective. "Alright here it goes, people! Legolas I'll be swinging your way after my run, I'll give the spiders a shot of my Uni-beam and try and help push them back into the forest!"

"Roger!" said a voice over his helmet speaker.

"Let's do this Jarvis, one pass over those… Things. Then all power to the Uni-beam, just leave enough for flight and directional control."

"As you wish sir!" said the voice of his AI. "Sir, I must warn you, however, that this action may well damage the focusing lens above your Arc Reactor rendering the Uni-beam inoperable."

"I know that JARVIS," Tony said as the last of the missiles left their launchers, heading towards their targets below. "But we need to buy some time!"

"Understood! Diverting power now," the voice said. "Ten seconds till you reach critical mass on your Arc Reactor sir."

"Calculate best firing line, and project it on the HUD," Tony ordered. "Fire on my mark!"

Seconds crept by as he watched the power levels climb, and he made the circle along the far edge of the forest. "FIRE!" he yelled just as the indicator touched the red zone.

A beam as wide as a man was tall tore through the night air and began smashing into the forest. Trees exploded and chunks of dirt and stone became deadly projectiles laying waste to the monstrous Spiders.

Seconds later the beam ended, leaving nothing but carnage and destruction in its wake.

"Power levels at eight percent," said the voice. "Recharging cycle for the Arc Reactor commencing. Sir it will be six minutes until systems will reach minimal combat levels… If you land that time will be cut in half…"

Tony nodded, sweat pouring down his face as he did. "Land us with Nat and Clint," he said, turning over flight control to the AI.

"Yes sir."

Tony took a deep breath, and grimaced as the pain in his chest slowly receded to a dull throb. 'That was a close one,' he thought. 'I need to build in a few more safe guards… I can't let the power drain get below ten percent again, at least until I figure out some other way to deal with that shrapnel.'

"Jarvis, check for damage to the Uni-beam," he said as they landed on the roof of Hogwarts.

"I already have Sir," the AI answered. "The lens is non functional."

Tony nodded. "Alright, when power levels reach twenty-five percent let me know and run a functionality diagnostic. I don't want any surprise about what is working when we get back in there."

"Understood sir."

His faceplate snapped open and he drew in a deep breath of the crisp night air, just in time to see the pillar of magic erupt from the two combatants in the clearing below.

"Whoa…" he said quietly.


	22. Chapter 22

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 22**

"The fµ€k you say?" said the short haired woman running for her life, as blaster fire splashed against the walls surrounding them.

"I'm just say'n-" came from the gigantic man next to her.

"I ain't leaving ya, you dumba$$!" she screamed as the pair slid around a corner, and began to run again.

"But Harls, he's after me!" exclaimed the large man, desperate for her to see his point. "He won't chase you if you just-"

"No and that's final you a$$hole!" she said. "We'll get out of this!"

"I'm begging you-" he began again.

"NO! We jump together! That'll buy us some godƌ Ɯ time!" she growled out.

The giant man next to her sighed. "Fine! This is the last time though! If he finds us again you're going on without me!"

She smirked. "Yeah whatever," she said, as she began to hum. A shimmering hole began to form in front of them.

"I'm serious Harls!" he said, as they ran forward towards the event threshold.

They were just about to enter when the large man grabbed her arm and shoved. "Sorry Harly… I know better now. Goodbye!" he yelled as he watched her disappear in a thunderclap before she could answer.

He turned towards his pursuer. "Alright monster! Let's do this!" he screamed as he lifted his own pulse rifle in one hand and the hyper velocity, belt fed slug thrower in the other. "RAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed as he began firing.

* * *

"What the hell?" Clint asked staring at the pillar of magical energy.

"Don't ask me Legolas…" Tony said looking on in awe. "JARVIS is in low power mode… I can't even scan that thing."

"Do you think Harry is ok in there?" Clint asked.

Tony shrugged. "He'd better be or his girl is going to kill him."

The discharge of Natasha's rifle broke their attention away from the sight. "Minds back in the game boys!" she said, adjusting her sights. "Let Harry worry about that and get your asses back in gear, we have a battle to win!"

* * *

'Something is wrong!' screamed Voldemort's senses. 'How can he be doing this?'

Voldemort watched as the joining point of their energies surged again, increasing the opaque dome around them as well as the now solid pillar that was reaching into the sky.

He could feel his strength beginning to ebb, while that of his opponent only seemed to increase.

'How is this possible?' he thought. 'Potter never showed this type of focus nor strength! It has always been luck that has been the deciding factor in his favor before!"

Voldemort could feel his knees begin to buckle. 'NO! I will not be denied! I have come too far! Sacrificed too much! I am LORD VOLDEMORT!' he screamed within his own mind and began to push again against his adversary.

* * *

Harry's face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, as he continued his battle of wills with Tom. He knew that his friends were counting on him, Hermione was counting on him. For them he wouldn't fail!

His wand tip began to shake, as he continued to pour his magic through it. He was beginning to tire, then something Steve said to him floated to the surface of his thoughts.

" _Harry, you are capable of amazing things, things that you have scarcely scratched the surface of. Trust your instincts, relax and let them help guide you."_

Harry grinned and relaxed, letting the magic flow from his core freely, reaching out with it, allowing his instincts to guide his next actions.

All at once he changed his tactic, instead of pushing against Voldemort's magic he used his own to grab a hold of it, then he pulled, redirecting all of Voldemort's magic into the pillar above them.

The sky cracked.

* * *

Tony watched the countdown on his visor cycle down to one minute, as he stood behind the pair of assassins that were putting their deadly skills to the test, wishing he could do more.

As it was anything he did would only hinder the Arc-core's recharge cycle and that included unnecessary movement. When the pillar of light shifted, doubling in intensity and size, and from an amber tinted white to neon red, all he could do was stare in wonder.

Here he stood encased in the pinnacle of human technology and sensory equipment, looking at a pillar of energy the likes of which he had only seen once before, with the Tesseract, and again he was in no position to study it.

Once again he watched the sky shatter, and a gateway to someplace else form out of the nothingness. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared it was gone.

He stared in horror as a figure fell out of the sky, oddly reminiscent of the films he had seen of his own plummet, helpless to intervene as the figure fell.

* * *

"Problem Tom?" Harry chided his opponent as he stood over the man who was fighting to remain standing, and holding his now charred wand.

"H-How did…" he began, still gathering himself. "How did you do it Potter? Wh-What form of magic…" Voldemort gasped.

"No magic Tom," he said, walking slowly forward, wand at the ready. "Combat tactics… didn't you feel it? When I stopped directly opposing you and redirected your spell?"

"But- but the connection!" he said. "Or wands can't hurt one another."

"That was just it Tom," Harry said with a smile. "I had no intention of hurting you, just protecting my friends… Your own power is what burned your wand out."

Voldemort looked down at his smoldering wand, then over his shoulder towards the lake and the few still burning Inferi, willing them forward to surround him. "Then if I have lost this battle, I will be sure that you are not alive to celebrate it!"

Once again the surface began to boil as the form of the lake's squid broke through, its melted surface showing deep gouges where there had once been eyes.

"TOM! What have you done?" Harry cried, stunned by the sight before him.

"No matter how this ends, I will survive this battle Potter!" cackled the madman. "This creature is my final gift to you and your friends! Not only humans can be made Inferi it seems! Kill him!" was his last order before disappearing behind the gargantuan creature.

Harry dodged one of the massive tentacles, and rolled to his feet. "I'm going to need some help here!" he yelled over the coms.

* * *

Dane Whitman blinked his eyes as the pillar of eldritch energy blinked out of existence. "My God! What was that?" he said to himself as he blinked again trying to regain his night vision.

As his eyes refocused, they landed on an object falling from the sky. "That's a person… Strider! Down!" he yelled, and the mighty pegasus folded its wings in and they dove after the falling form.

* * *

Tony's face plate snapped into place as Jarvis began the reboot sequence of his armor.

"Come on… Come on…" he chanted as the symbols before him flickered. "Whoever that is doesn't have much time…"

The instant the last symbol settled he was in the air. "JARVIS! Full sc-" His voice died as his enhanced vision settled on the falling figure, apparently a young woman, being pulled aboard a horse with wings by a man in medieval armor. "Well… that's different…" he said, only for his attention to be torn away from the pair as Harry's voice came over his helmet radio.

"I'm going to need some help here!" Harry screamed.

* * *

Wheeling in the air he tried to take in the sight below him, as a giant squid was pulling its way onto shore and Harry was fending it off with a rapid succession of red blasts that ended in flames as he dodged tentacles.

"And the nightmares just keep coming…" he muttered. "JARVIS, lock on to that thing, and prep the Party Poppers."

"Sir, we are still below fifty percent power at the moment and diagnostics, are as of yet, incomplete, charging the Party Poppers is inadvisable."

"Just do it, the kid needs help!" he yelled. "Steve looks like his hands are full!"

"Party Poppers will be charged in six seconds…"

"Target the front of the body," Tony said. "Cut the tentacles off as close to the body as we can!"

He swung his arms forward as the came to a hover. "FIRE!"

Twin beams of scarlet lanced from the backs of his gauntlets, tearing through the upper tentacles like a hot knife through butter removing five before sputtering and dying out.

"What the..." was all Tony had time to say before his armor bucked and his boot jets failed as well, and he fell tumbling into the lake.

* * *

Voldemort ran towards the school gates; all he needed to do was make it to the ward line. Once he made it there he could apparate to safety!

As he ran he scooped up the wand that was still clasped in the hand of the now headless body of his most faithful and powerful warrior.

Potter had cost him much this night! Something he would rectify in short order!

His mind was already making new plans as the large metal disk collided with him and sent him sprawling on the stone path.

"You're not getting away that easily, Riddle!" said the man now standing in his way, dressed in red, white and blue, matching the shield he held.

"I don't know who you are, but my name is-" he said gathering his feet under him.

"Harry told us your story, Riddle. You are just another tyrant with delusions," he said, turning so the shield offered more protection, while keeping himself between Voldemort and the gate.

This time Voldemort only answered with a bolt of green.

* * *

"Let me go you Mother Fucker!" yelled the young woman, struggling in the man's arm.

"Stop moving please!" Dane said. "I don't want to drop you!"

Her eyes widened as she glanced around; suddenly she was grasping him tighter.

"SHIT!" she yelled. "What the hell? How the fuck did I get up here? Who the hell are you? Where is Killpower?"

"I don't know, you fell out of some form of rift, and you were alone…" he said, moving her to sit in front of him. "And you can call me the Black Knight."

The young woman took a deep breath. "Right… the fucker pushed me… I've got to get back…" she said, and began to hum. Only to grab her throat. "It's… It's not working!" she said softly.

"I'm going to need to drop you off here," he said, approaching the ground. "They need my help."

She slid to the ground next to a pair of giant iron gates, collapsing to her knees as she did.

* * *

Steve spun away from the next shot, a blot of ugly red, and moved to block Voldemort's path again. "Out of my way!" the man yelled, pointing the wand again. Only this time the ground under Steve erupted upward, tossing him to the side.

Voldemort began running again, only to find his path blocked by another man holding a shield. "Are there no end of you?" he yelled. "Are you another that is willing to die at the behest of Potter?"

The man before him shrugged. "I don't know who Potter is," he said as he adjusted the kite shield in his left arm and drew his sword. "But I do know who he is," gesturing to the star spangled avenger, who was already on his feet again.

Steve studied the man standing in the path for a moment. He stood almost six feet tall, though it was hard to tell exactly because of the helmet and armor; his armor that in places shone in the moonlight as much as it seemed to suck all of the light in that touched it in others. His kite shield had a red starburst in the center, and his sword seemed to shine with an inner light.

Voldemort snarled, "And you stand with him?"

Dane settled into a fighting stance. "With Captain America? Every time!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 23**

"Tony!" yelled Harry, as he watched the Ironman suit falling into the waters of Black Lake, dodging the one remaining tentacle and two remaining arms as they thrashed. " _Accio_ Ironman!" Was his first thought, only for nothing to happen. "Tony's down! I'm going to need help dealing with this thing!"

The voice of Hermione came back to him over his earpiece. "I'm coming Harry! The trolls are running, and the Hulk is taking care of the last of the Giants."

"Hurry Hermione! I-I can't seem to summon him…" he said blasting off one of the remaining arms with a cutting curse. "Either that thing has rolled over on him, he's too heavy or something has hold of him!"

"Alright Harry!" said her voice, "I can see the lake now!"

Harry continued to dance around the creature firing spells at it. "Fire isn't working! It's too soaked with water!"

There was a pause then Hermione's voice shouted, "ICE! Ice Harry! Use ice!"

Knowing that she was rarely wrong he pointed his wand and shouted, "Albeodo Crystalli!" And a jet of super cooled air and mist shot from his wand towards the undead creature.

When Hermione had found the spell, back when Harry was preparing for the Tri-Wizard cup, they had underestimated the effects by quite a bit, and ending up sealed in a classroom on the fifth floor for the better part of a weekend together (thankfully no one had come looking for them due to most of the castle still believing that Harry put his name in at the time, wouldn't Rita have had fun with that tidbit!). As near as Hermione could figure, it was the equivalent of spraying something as cold as liquid nitrogen at a target and adding an Aguamenti, the water creation spell, as it went.

A white sheen of ice immediately began to coat wherever the jet touched. Seconds later, as the creature attempted to move, those areas began to crack and shatter.

Harry kept the spell spraying as he dodged closer to the body, trying to use the effects to the greatest advantage as he did.

* * *

"You dare to think yourself a knight? And pit your sword and shield against the like of me? Lord Voldemort?" The pale man screamed, "Reducto!"

Dane Whitman smiled, hidden behind his black and gold helm as the energy beam leapt from the madman's wand and lanced its way toward him. He gripped his shield tighter, bringing it solidly between him and the caster, bracing for an impact.

None came.

"What…? How?" screamed Voldemort. "Avada Kedavra!"

The green bolt crossed the intervening ground in a flash impacting the shield without so much as a shudder as it splashed across the red star emblem in its center.

"How can this be!" yelled the angry man glancing between the two men now advancing on him.

Dane chuckled. "It is called the 'Shield of Night', a gift to my family by Avalon itself! Now let me introduce you to its companion in arms 'the 'Sword of Light'!" he said, moving so the point of the now brightly shining blade was facing the man.

A bolt of white energy leapt from the blade and flashed towards the madman, shattering the ground at the monster's feet flinging him backwards into the air.

"Your magic is useless against them!" Dane said taking a step forward as he did. "These gifts were given to my family to help protect the realm from someone such as you! Or did you never learn the legend of the Black Knight!"

"My family may have failed in the past, and been tempted into the use of the Ebony Blade for a time, because we forgot our pledge to Avalon, but no more! Once more the Black Knight stands to protect Great Britain from the likes of you until Arthur returns to the throne, and commands otherwise!" the man said, still advancing.

"Avalon…" Voldemort said under his breath, as he struggled to stand. "The Black Knight… those… they can't be! Those lines are lost!"

"Not lost entirely!" Dane said, as he crouched again. "My family just lost its way. It will not happen again!"

"We will just see about that!" Voldemort said pointing his wand, not at the knight but rather at the Star Spangled Avenger. "You have no defenses against some of my magic despite that curious shield unlike the knight! But I know that he is pledged not to harm an innocent! ' _Imperio!_ '"

A fog descended on the mind of Steve Rogers, and one thought drifted to his mind 'defend my escape'.

* * *

Natasha shucked the bolt on her rifle again and fired. The head of the final vampire exploded in a mist of red. "Take what's left of its head! And make sure they are all down!"

Spitfire replied in the affinitive, and began making quick work of the vampires' bodies.

"I'm almost out Clint!" she said as he popped the clip on the rifle to check the number of shells remaining. She had been keeping a running count but the action had been rather intense and she could have miscounted. Better safe than sorry. "Four, and one clip."

"I'm about out too," he said firing an arrow towards the darkness of the forest, towards where the spiders had retreated too. "I'm down to flares, two broad heads and my grapple."

She nodded and watched as the flare ignited in the woods and pale shapes skittered away from it. "Damn it! We need more firepower, Fury!"

"Vectoring in your Quinjet now," said a voice over the radio.

"I'll fly, you shoot," she said grabbing her rifle and standing.

"Deal," he said, stepping close to her and clipping three D-rings to spaces in her weapons harness.

"Reminds me of Singapore…" she said with a grin.

"I keep telling you, you remember things a lot different from the way I do," he said, drawing his bow and firing his grapple towards the passing Quinjet.

Seconds later the line drew taut and the pair were swept into the air trailing behind the speeding jet.

* * *

Hermione landed at the foot of the mountains beside Black Lake and immediately leapt again, headed towards the bank on the southern side, only to bound again as she hit, this time towards the squid.

She shifted in the air to fly feet first, bringing her knees in ready to thrust when she came in contact with the gigantic beast.

The impact shoved the creature further down the shore, breaking several of the now frozen limbs from the main body. As Hermione stood she shrugged several of the inferi loose and brushed the wet hair out of her face just as easily.

A woman's voice came over her earpiece. "Hermione, if you can lift it, get it out of the water. That may slow it down or cause it to crack further."

"Got it Spitfire!" Hermione said leaning over to get a grip under the massive beast. "Which way is clear?"

Spitfire was suddenly just feet from her, glancing around, as her suit and sword glittered in the moonlight. "The hut! It is the only direction clear!"

She grunted as she dug deeper under the monster and began rolling it onto her back for better leverage. "Sorry Hagrid…" she said as she hoisted the squid skyward then, with her feet sinking into the soft bottom of the lake to her knees, hurled it in the direction Spitfire had suggested.

She smiled at Harry, as he made short work of the remaining inferi around her with flame charms as she pulled herself loose from the mud. "Thanks 'Mione," he said.

"No problem Harry. You would have handled it, even without my help…" she said, slogging deeper into the water, as her wand slid forward into her palm. "I think we may owe Hagrid a new house now." she said, nodding toward the now slowly thrashing squid.

" _Point Me_ , Ironman!" she intoned, then watched as the wand spun in her hand, till it settled pointing off to the left and downward. "I'll get Tony, you help with Tom!"

Harry nodded, and took off at a run, as Hermione dove into the water. "Alright… Spitfire, keep an eye on her please," he said as he passed the woman in gold.

"Sure thing Harry," she replied. "I'll watch your girl's back."

"She's not my girl!" he said over his shoulder as he ran.

* * *

The Black Knight looked on in horror as Captain America's eyes glazed over and he turned towards him. "Captain?" he said quietly.

"He can no longer hear you knight!" Voldemort spat the last word like a curse. "He is under my thrall now, and now he will defend _me_ to the death!" Spinning on his heel and cackling loudly he made his way toward the gates of Hogwarts, his cloak billowing around him.

Dane cursed under his breath, he couldn't use the Sword of Light to its fullest against someone like the Captain! He would be restricted to defensive maneuvers and the flat of his blade, and even if he could go all out he doubted that he could last more than a few minutes against WWII's finest soldier.

He shifted his grip on his sword slightly, to keep the cutting edge as safe as possible, and began to shift around his opponent, trying to get the man off the flagstones and onto softer ground.

"Captain, you don't need to fight me!" he said, as the warrior gathered himself and launched his assault, leading with his famous shield.

* * *

Natasha wheeled the Quinjet around and brought the front end to bear and flared the engines to settle into a hover. "Got them?"

Clint didn't answer; he just depressed the trigger on the auto cannon, strafing the area, with one hand while flipping a switch with the other. "Missiles hot, prepping to fire… Firing!" yelled Hawkeye.

Missiles shot away from the Quinjet, and into the forest blowing dirt and trees into the air along with pieces of spider.

Natasha's fingers danced across the controls, even as she kept the hovering jet stable, using the advanced optics of the jet to feed the spiders' positions to Clint as the scene below them exploded, chasing the spiders deeper and deeper into the Forest, till they began to see fire start spreading among the giant webbing nests.

She watched closely as the motion around the area began to lessen. "I think that has it, Clint."

Hawkeye made one more pass with the autogun, then nodded. "Take us back Natasha."

* * *

Voldemort was still cackling loudly as he reached the gate, only for half the massive wrought iron structure to slam forward and smash into his face, knocking him backwards and onto the ground.

"Don't know who ya are," said a woman's voice from someplace beyond the stars now dancing before his eyes. "But I figure I owe the guy in black for saving me so you just keep lay'n there and bleed till he's done. 'Kay asshole? And don't give me any trouble!"

Voldemort's eyes began to clear and his eyes focused on the woman now standing between him and the edge of the wards. She wasn't tall, sporting snow white hair with a shock of black in the front, and wearing a short skirt and what looked like a leather bra with a leather jacket with metal studs.

"You dare!" he growled, as he began to move, wiping blood from the split skin on his forehead.

"O' shut up! You noseless fuck!" she said. "You're lucky I didn't-"

She sprang to the side, dodging a blast of angry red energy that made the gates ring behind her when it hit them.

"God damn it!" she yelled rolling across the ground and back to her feet. "I was trying to be nice!"

She ducked under another blast, this time in green, changing the direction of her dodge as if she knew exactly where the next blast of energy was going to be.

"You want to play! Fine!" She opened her mouth wide, and a scream erupted from her that impacted Voldemort like a runaway train, sending him tumbling away like a reed tossed in a hurricane. "Take that you sack of shit! Be glad I didn't have my pulse rifle!" she said.

* * *

Harry was running flat out when he saw the pair of shield wielders clash again. "Keep holding him Steve, I'm going after Tom!"

Only to have the first Avenger disengage from the dark colored knight with a back flip and sling his shield toward Harry at an alarming speed.

Reacting without thinking Harry made use of his seeker reflexes, dropping to his knees and sliding under the flying disk. His hand flashed up and grabbed hold of one of the straps effectively snatching it from the air. "What the hell?" he exclaimed.

"The Dark Wizard!" the knight exclaimed. "He bespelled the Captain! He is controlling him somehow!"

Harry was already back on his feet and now standing shoulder to shoulder with the knight, facing off against the Avenger.

"Merlin!" Harry said under his breath. "Steve… It's me Harry! You need to concentrate! You can beat this! Ignore what the voice is saying, your will is stronger than his!"

Steve's motions slowed, and his brow furrowed. "Come on Steve, you can do this!" Harry yelled. "Don't let the bastard win!"

"H-Harry…" Steve said slowly, than shook his head. "Wh-What? What am I…?" He looked up at the pair "What? Why am I…?"

Harry smiled. "I'll explain later," he said tossing the man his shield. "Let's finish this."

Before they could make it to the crest of the hill, an earth shattering sound broke through the night.

* * *

Harry stood looking down at the twisted body of Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle. "Ouch! That had to hurt!" he said, as he leaned down and rolled pulverized form of the man over.

"You bet your ass it hurt!" said the oddly dressed woman. "I took this thing off him," she said, handing the wand he had been using to the Knight. "A-and I wanted to tha…" She took a deep breath. "I wanted to say thank you, for saving me." Grimacing as if saying the words hurt her in some way,

Dane took the wand from her, and placed it in the pouch at his waist. "Think nothing of it," he replied, as he removed his helmet. "You have repaid any debt you could have owed by stopping this man," he said, indicating the broken mass at his feet.

Harry stood. "He's dead… again." He shook his head. "It looks like the ritual holding his body together is falling apart." he said, indicating the now deflated set of robes.

Steve nodded, as he put his hand to his ear "Any word on Tony?" he asked.

"Hermione is dragging him out now, he looks like he's ok… His faceplate is off, and it looks like he's talking to her." said Natasha. "I'm setting down near the lake."

Steve gave his affirmative, and turned to the others. "Steve Rodgers," he said, pulling off his helmet and offering his hand.

Dane's face broke out in a wide grin. "It's an honor sir… I saw your exhibit at the Smithsonian. It's a pleasure to meet you. Dane Whitman, my family is holder of the title Black Knight."

The girl shrugged, and looked uncomfortable when he offered her his hand. "Shit… Harley Davis… But most people call me Motormouth…"

Steve's eyebrow rose. "Motormouth?"

"Yeah, well…" she began, blew out a breath, then shrugged again. "Aww… Fuck it! I cuss a lot, alright! The name kind of stuck because of it!" she said angrily.

"Ms. Davis?" Harry asked. "Did you see anything after you hit him?"

She shook her head, and looked at him oddly then at the now empty robes. "What the hell happened to him anyway? You said ritual…"

Harry shook his head and cut off the rest of her question. "That's a long story… Harry Potter, by the way," he said taking their hands in turn. "We need to get out of here before more of them come."

Steve nodded. "Load up people. Harry, grab that stuff and collect any wands or other things you can. Mr. Whitman , Ms. Davis, we need you to come with us. It won't be safe here once we leave."

Dane nodded, placed his helm back on his head and whistled. Seconds later the pegasus appeared, landing next to its master. "Strider, go home and await my return," he told the steed. It shook its head once then took to the air, flying into the distance.

"It's not even like I know where the fuck here is anyway…." Harley said, quietly, joining them. "Till I do, and figure out how to get back, I guess one way is as good as another."

Just as the first rays of dawn peeked over the mountains, the lone Quinjet rose into the air and turned toward the west and sped away.


	24. Chapter 24

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 24**

The smell of coffee drifted into the room, causing Tony to take a deep breath as he sat up on the edge of the bed. "Oh god, tell me you brought me a cup of that heavenly brew."

Natasha nodded, handing him the large porcelain cup. "Cream, no sugar."

Tony took a sip, and sighed. "Perfect."

"What time did you get to sleep Tony?" she asked.

"Ummm… about seven I think, the sun had been up a while," he replied, taking another sip. "I needed to check my suit's systems after that blowout, and have JARVIS start fabrication of the new replacement modules back at the tower… what time is it anyway?"

"It's almost one now, we were holding off on lunch till you were up. Fury wants to talk to all of us," she said, heading for the door. "I'll tell them you'll be down after you're dressed."

"Right," he said as the door slid shut. "JARVIS?"

"Sir?" the AI responded.

"Status?" he said, slipping into his slacks and sliding into his silk shirt.

"Power levels holding at seventy three percent, but the readings from the reactor are ciritical, I can not recommend the usage until such time as the new modules are installed," JARVIS said flatly. "Fabrication of a new Arc Reactor is almost complete, along with replacement parts for the Mark VIII amour. I took the liberty of arranging them to be loaded on the first transport available after completion. They should arrive by no later than four am tomorrow local time."

"Thank you JARVIS," he said, finishing up and running a brush through his hair. "That's perfect, have it sent to the lab when it gets here."

"As you wish, sir," the disembodied voice intoned.

* * *

Tony chuckled as he entered the conference room. "Good morning!" he said, sliding into the seat furthest away from Nick. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Stark!" Fury growled. "Some of us have places to be! So be quiet and listen up!" said the dark skinned man.

"First off," he said, gesturing towards the two new faces at the table. "I'd like to thank Mr. Whitman and Ms. Davis, for their help last night.

The pair nodded slightly, Dane smiling widely as he spoke. "It was an honor sir!"

Fury continued. "Last night was a heavy blow to Riddle's forces," he said, turning towards the large screen behind him and standing. "We suspect that we encountered the majority of his first strike and assault forces at Hogwarts, all of which were destroyed, as were the traps he had laid out on the grounds, involving the forest creatures and the zombies in the lake. Excellent job people."

"As for where we are at the moment," he said, clicking to the next image. "Banner just contacted me; Hermione had to break off contact with him during the mission due to the zombie squid…" He shook his head in disbelief that he had even said such a statement. "Barton, you go pick him up when we are finished here, he's in a village in the Alps. I've sent the coordinates to your communicator."

The spy nodded. "Stark? Our new friend could use some help," he said, gesturing to the young woman with mostly white hair. "Evidently her abilities come from some form of imbedded technology. Look it over," the man said. "She said some of it, the part that she could use to return to her home, seems to be non-operational."

Tony's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked, surprised. "How did you get something like that?"

"Ummm… I kind of found it, originally… It was in a pair of these really fucking cool gold trainers! Found them in an alley back home… put them on and… BANG! I'm in a new world! You would not fucking believe that place! The world was one huge mall!"

The rest of the room was silent as she continued her story. "So I did what anybody that had had my life would do, I went shopping. Bought this hella cool radio, can search any station, and play it directly into my head… Then I ran into some guys that wanted the shoes back and I ended up running from those asshats 'cause they seemed intent on killing me to get them.

"That's when they sent Killpower, his real name is Julius Mullarkey, he was a genetically engineered soldier… grown in a vat of this orange shit," she said, looking sadly at them. "H- he was only three when I met him… And had killed over sixty people on their orders. He didn't understand killing for fun was wrong… They royally screwed him up… It was all just a game to him… His bosses had sent him after me to get the shoes, something they called MOPED/ **M** ind **O** perated **PE** rsonal **D** ematerialization. He was the one that actually taught me how the damn things worked, showing me how they would allow us to jump through time and dimensions to escape the owners of Mys-Tech, the people who created them."

"I was shot, in the throat, just as we jumped about a year ago… And Jules used the tech in my shoes and parts from a sonic blaster to fix my voice box," she said rubbing at her throat unconsciously. "The sonic scream seems to be working but the dimension distortion… It doesn't."

Tony nodded slowly, still not sure if he believed the girl but he would make that decision after he had taken a look at her throat. "I'll take a look as soon as we're done here… Dr. Fleming probably needs to look at her as well… and I'll want some equipment from my lab at Stark Tower."

Nick nodded. "Make the arrangements, and contact Fleming."

Nick turned to Dane Whitman. "You said that your family is pledged to protect Great Britain?"

"Yes, sir," said the man resting his arm on top of his dark helmet. "My family was charged by King Arthur to protect the realm, from all manner of threats… unfortunately my family lost Avalon's favor due to the actions of my great grandfather and his brother. During which time my great uncle used the Mantle, after my grandfather's death, along with the cursed Ebony Blade to his own ends.

"This ended when my father returned from the United States in 2010… In the end my father was killed and my great uncle was defeated and saw how t he had injured our family. He then took me in and trained me, as he had been, to be a knight, while I attended Uni."

"Appeased, Avalon accepted the return of our family into its good graces and bestowed on me the Mantle of the Black Knight, as well as 'the Sword of Light and the Shield of Night' and bid me to return honor to my family name by once again protecting the realm."

"And this led to you arriving at Hogwarts how?"

"My grandfather," Dane said in a quiet tone. "He's a ghost now. He blames himself for what happened between my great uncle and himself. He helped him train me, and has promised to help guide me as much as he is able. He can commune with Avalon."

Hermione gasped. "You know where Avalon is?

He chuckled. "No, our family just has a connection to it, mine is still growing and someday I too will be guided as my grandfather is."

"And what was this Ebony Blade?" asked Fury.

The man sighed. "My great uncle fell prey to it when my grandfather was chosen to be the Black Knight rather than him… It is a magical blade forged from a metal that fell from the sky centuries ago, and is an ebony color just as the name implies. It has the ability to cut through any known substance, and deflect any attack."

Hawkeye whistled. "Sounds impressive."

"It is, and beautiful as well… But the blade is cursed. If the owner ever uses it to draw blood he is slowly driven insane with blood lust… My father gave his life to finally free my great uncle from its curse."

Fury looked concerned. "And where is this blade now."

"Safe," Dane said with a small smile. "It has been taken to Avalon."

Fury grunted, but accepted the answer. "Harry how long do you think it will take for Voldemort to get another body?"

Harry shrugged. "Last time it was fourteen years… This time?" He sat forward, elbows on the table. "Who knows? Especially with that many of his inner circle dead… He won't want to appear weak so it will limit his options of who he could approach."

"Alright," Fury said, standing. "Then we move on the Ministry building as soon as possible. I want you all rested and ready. Barton, you're with me."

"Romanov, I want you working with Potter and Granger to go through our guests. Those that are trustworthy move to the general population area; any others, leave them under lock and key." he said as he walked towards the door.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall looked up from her book when two of her favorite students entered the conference room along with a red headed woman that looked remarkably like one of her past students, a student who just happened to be the mother of one of those students.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Ms. Romanov," she said, acknowledging them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Professor," Hermione said, sitting across from her. "We had an eventful night and had some things to discuss this morning about what happened."

The elder lady nodded. "That is quite understandable," she replied. "I always come prepared," she said, patting the book on the table. "Albus was often running late, so I carry something to read to every meeting. I trust it went well?"

Harry chuckled. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Hermione glared at him as Harry continued to answer, "Well Old Moldy is in search of a body again."

Minerva's eyes went wide. "You faced him and won?"

"Faced him, yes," Harry replied. "But I wasn't the one that beat him this time. This time it was a new friend, Harley… She's a muggle."

Minerva's eyes went wide. "A muggle! How…"

Hermione smirked. "Let's just say she… lives up to her nickname…"

Natasha changed the subject at that point. "We are speaking to you first…" She began pushing several stacks of photos across the table to her... "for your opinions on the people we have here at the moment."

Minerva looked at the stacks of photos; the first was one of muggleborns. Her face turned sad. "Muggleborns… first generation witches and wizards… Some of these people I haven't seen in a number of years, but I know them. Why?"

"We need to know if any of them may have skills that would be useful in an interim government, accounting, healing, law, or law enforcement, even secretarial."

The elder educator looked through the pages of the first stack again. "Marina Louis always had a good head for numbers, though her name says it's Michelson," she said, putting a picture to the side. "And David Breaks wanted to become an Auror," she said, placing his to the side. She sighed over the others. "I can say if I recognize several faces, but the names are different, and I do not know what they went on to do after Hogwarts."

She picked up the next stack. "My current students?" she asked.

Natasha nodded. "Other than the Slytherins, they are still under the effects of the potions at the moment. We need to know if any of them could be dangerous."

Minerva shook her head. "They're just children, sur-"

Harry cut her off. "And what am I?" he asked, his voice full of anger. "Or Hermione? I know for a fact the Ferret has taken the dark mark, as have some of his pals! Their age doesn't matter! Only the danger they could cause!"

She sighed again and began separating a few photos. "I've suspected these students of reporting to the Carrows… but without their wands or access to potion materials I do not think they pose a threat to your friends."

Harry nodded and took them from her hand. "How about to the other students? Are they a danger to them?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "We'll separate these from the groups now." He stood and motioned to Hermione.

When the door shut Minerva hung her head. "They certainly have changed over the last year."

"More than just their appearance," Natasha agreed. "Even in the short amount of time I have known them they have grown."

Minerva shook her head sadly. "I have been thinking about what Mr. Potter said in the Headmaster's office…" she said softly, "and discussed a few hard truths with Filius, Pomona and the other professors…" She paused, taking a breath. "While I still believe he was a great man… Albus made many mistakes…"

Natasha watched the woman across from her, studying her carefully.

"I want to believe that he was trying to do the right thing," she said, "but the more I have discussed the things that have happened since Harry came…" She paused again and shook her head slowly. "No, it began long before that… before when Harry started Hogwarts… before he was left with the Dursley's… possibly even before his parents began their education at Hogwarts… He was doing things that had dire consequences… especially if any of that woman, Skeeter's, book can be believed."

Minerva McGonagall removed her glasses and rubbed her tear filled eyes. "And we were no better, we all saw things that gave us pause, but he was Albus Dumbledore… Surely he knew best… He was the greatest wizard since Merlin… We… We let this happen… and now our world… our children are paying a heavy price."

Natasha stood, her chair rasping harshly on the tile floor. She paused just before opening the door. "We all have done things we regret, things that we judge ourselves more harshly for than anyone else could, that is just a fact. Albus made mistakes, large ones; he was willing to sacrifice the innocent and the just, for the chance to redeem the fallen."

She turned to look at the woman still sitting at the table. "He was more interested in souls of his enemies than in the lives of his people. If he felt that was his calling, he could have been a priest, or a philosopher. He had numerous chances to change things for the better, and he held numerous positions of power within your government…"

She took a deep breath, "A great man once said, 'all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing', and that is exactly what your ' _good_ ' man did, nothing."

"He didn't use his position in your legislature and court system to see that the laws were adhered to and corruption pursued." She ticked off a finger.

"He didn't use his position within the international community to secure help when Riddle had been exposed after his return." She ticked off again.

"He let eleven years roll by at the status quo with people who should have been arrested and placed in prison getting away with bribes and corruption under his very nose!" She ticked off another finger.

"We won't even go into the things he did to Harry!" she said angrily.

"But worst of all," she said, regaining control. "He allowed the same behavior within the walls of your Hogwarts… he may have even encouraged it!"

Minerva's eyes went wide and she began to protest. "Think about it before you speak! What would it have been like to take classes with Severus Snape? Harry told us and Hermione confirmed it. Points off for breathing too loudly, derogatory names for a student, attacking the memory of that same student's father, blatant favoritism to his own house… the list goes on."

"Or the pink wearing woman," she continued. "I saw Harry's hand… heard the story of how that woman tortured a fifteen year old student with a quill that wrote in his own blood even as it carved 'I will not tell lies' into his hand! And I do not believe he was the only one she did it to, as I have seen at least three others!"

"He let these things happen in a school," she said. "Done by people that are supposed to be there to educate, and if necessary protect the students. We may never know why he did these things, not entirely, though we do have a few educated guesses; and perhaps we will learn something more when his portrait awakens at Hogwarts, but have no illusion, Albus Dumbledore allowed a illness to continue to grow and fester because of his actions. He may have been a good man, but in the end he did nothing. Are you going to let the same be said of you when you are gone?"

She then walked out of the door, closing it with a soft 'click'.


	25. Chapter 25

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 25**

"Hey Muscles!" Tony said, as they passed through the area he had dubbed the lab and began to work on his suit. "Can I borrow you for a minute?" he asked as he worked.

She looked at Harry for a moment, then headed Tony's way. "Sure, I'll come find you when we're done, Harry."

He nodded and kept going towards the guest area.

"You need help moving something Tony?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"Hmmm…" he said looking up from whatever was on the desk, the jeweler's loupe making his eye look comically large. "No." He shook his head. "I think I figured something out… about why your people say tec and magic don't work together for long." He flipped the visual magnification loupe up as he stood, offering his place to her. "Take a look and tell me what you see."

She looked confused as she sat, and began adjusting the loupe. "I thought you were working on your suit… why are you looking at one of my gauntlets?" she asked.

"I noticed something last night when I was going over my systems…" he said, jabbing his thumb towards the suit in question. "Besides, the new parts won't be here till early tomorrow morning and I needed something to keep my mind occupied… good thing too…"

She nodded. "Alright, what am I looking at?" she asked looking through the loupe.

The older man chuckled. "Nope, you tell me. You need to learn these systems, so you can do your own maintenance."

She grumbled but settled in and began looking around. "Then why is it just me, Harry-"

"Harry's gauntlets are in perfect working order, I already checked," he said quickly. "Now, what do you see?"

She sighed. "The actuators, the ones that control my wand's movement…" She paused, prodding at them, causing them to move slightly, but they didn't extend easily, or completely as they should have during a test phase. "They're sticking…" She looked up at the man confused. "I don't understand… why?"

"I noticed the same thing last night on my suit," he said, moving over to the next table and retrieving her backup gauntlet. He opened the same panel and laid it next to the first one. "You tell me the difference between the two."

She nodded and shifted the loupe to look at both. "They both look the same…" she said softly, then activated the same sequence. The one on the left moved slightly but the one on the right cycled through. She did it a second time. "I don't know Tony… they look the same."

He smiled. "They do don't they…" He reached up and turned on a light above the loupe, the gauntlet on the left shone a pale blue, while the one on the right shone green in some areas.

She looked through the loupe again, comparing the areas she saw the green in on the second glove; suddenly it dawned on her. "Lubricant… The black light causes the lubricant to glow green!"

Tony smiled. "Knew you'd get it!"

She looked up at the older man. "But I don't understand… I didn't…" Her eyes grew wide, as her head swiveled to Tony's armour. "The 'Scourgify!' I used it to clean us both up last night after being in the lake! And… and Harry didn't need to! It cleans _all_ of the surfaces! It removed all of the lubricant!"

"My thoughts exactly!" he said, sliding his chair next to hers and retrieving a small bottle with a long wire tip. "A mono-molecular lubricant, my own formula," he said, dabbing it in several areas, and cycling the armature through its paces. "That ought to do it!"

"So I guess cleaning up the muck on us via magic was a bad thing?" she asked, standing up.

"Evidently…" Tony said, moving to run the test sequences again and watching the armatures move. "Though it does make me wonder about some other things. I may want to do some tests later when we are back at the Tower, till then no more cleaning with magic… capiche?"

She nodded. "Yeah… no problem, I'll tell Harry too."

* * *

"So give, Harry," said Clint. "How are we doing this?"

Harry chuckled. "Alright, as far as I know the Ministry is under those buildings," he said, pointing across the road, "and there are a couple of ways we could go in. One is down the elevator, located in that phone booth." He pointed to a red booth almost hidden from view down the street. "Or… we could go through the public loo on the corner… but I doubt any of you want to stand in what looks like a broken stool."

Hermione and he chuckled again as their friends' faces twisted in disgust, "Hey, we had to do it the last time we broke in, trust me it was worse than it sounds," she said.

"Last time?" Motormouth asked. "How many times have you broken into this place?"

Harry smiled. "This will be the third."

She chuckled. "And they haven't improved their security? What kind of idiots are they?"

It was Hermione that answered. "They're Purebloods, they think they can do no wrong and anything that is new is useless."

She looked at the green Giantess in shock. "Seriously?"

Hermione nodded as she flipped open one of her belt pouches, "But this time I think we'll use this," she said, pulling out a length of rope. "Port-key, we took it off Lucius. It will take us inside the Ministry atrium according to him. Everybody grab hold and get ready… Pureblood Rule," she whispered.

With a feeling like they were hooked behind the navel the group disappeared from the roof.

* * *

An unpleasant looking woman in a shocking pink cardigan made her way through the hallways of the ministry.

"You! There! Has there been any word from our Lord? Or news of Hogwarts?" she yelled as she approached the desk in the middle of the atrium.

"No Madam Umbridge," answered the young man. "A team is preparing to port-key there as soon as they are ready."

She grumped. "Lord Voldemort is most likely in residence at Hogwarts, showing the children what happens when one defies the natural order of things!" she said with a vicious smile. "Inform me the moment that they return with any information, so I may inform the others!"

"As you say Madam," the guard replied.

Just as she slammed the door and began her descent, she felt the lift shake violently, knocking her off of her feet.

"What in Merlin's name?" she cried, as she fell. The lift shook again, followed by shouts and the sounds of spell fire from the atrium level that was now just above her level. "Someone dares attack the Minisry!" she growled as she attempted to stand.

Steadying herself against the wall, she stabbed at the button on the wall to no effect. She screamed in impotent rage as the world around her shook again, then in terror as the lift dropped a dozen feet, snapping to a stop suddenly, crashing her to the floor.

Darkness threatened to claim her at that point but was prevented by a sudden blast of pain from her now badly broken ankle, which now sat at an odd angle to the rest of her leg and was beginning to bleed profusely from where the bone had broken the surface of her skin, she noted in an oddly calm manner.

Struggling to sit up, she grasped for her wand, kept, as was her practice, in the special pocket of her pink jacket, only to draw half of the now broken implement out.

She stared at the sight as if she were somehow betrayed by the thing. Glancing down, searching for the other half of her broken wand, she watched as a stain of the darkest red bled into her favorite color from somewhere in her lower stomach,

Within moments darkness claimed her, and death soon after, as Delores Umbridge became one of the first casualties of the latest battle for the Ministry building.

* * *

Upon landing in the atrium, the now larger group of Avengers immediately burst into movement, scattering sometimes in pairs and sometimes alone as they did so.

Tony's boot jets roared as he lifted into the air and soared into the vaulted airspace, watching his HUD for threats. "JARVIS! I want you to keep a watch on the balconies, I'll handle the first floor," he said as he cycled and fired his repulsors at his first target, obliterating the guard desk and sending the man stationed there spinning into the air.

"As you wish sir," said the voice of his AI. "Tracking two guards on their way to the gallery, eta ten seconds."

"What say we go greet them in person," Tony replied, wheeling in the air and speeding away on pillars of fire.

* * *

Hermione bounded across the large room past the golden statues of magical beings on their knees before Voldemort. She came to a stop in front of the bank of lifts, smashing a fist into the doors of the first, knocking them loose into the open space below and grasping the lift cables beyond, a quick pull ripping them apart.

She watched as the lift fell a dozen or so feet before the lift came to a halt due to the emergency brake, then moved on.

* * *

The Black Knight led the way towards the stairs to the left, shield at the ready and sword held loosely in his right hand. Behind him Hawkeye scanned their path for threats as the Black Widow guarded their rear.

"Contact," Clint said, as he loosed an arrow down a side hallway sending it skipping off a wall at an odd angle allowing it to deliver its explosive charge just around the corner, tossing two figures into full view.

"Got'em!" said the Widow, as she snapped off two quick shots from her pistols causing the bodies to jerk.

They moved on towards the stairs.

* * *

Cap, Harry and Harley ran a different direction at the stairs, down a hidden hallway towards the Department of Mysteries.

Moments later they burst through a door only for it to slam behind them, leaving them surrounded by a dozen floating doors.

"I hate this room!" Harry muttered, as they began to rotate.

As they stopped, Cap asked, "Which one?"

Harry shrugged. "Pick one," he said, as he pulled a small tube out of a pocket.

Motormouth shrugged and grabbed hold of one of the door handles, jerking it open as she did, revealing a vast starfield pushing out into infinity. Air began to rush past them into the room, Harry quickly slammed it shut and marked a big x on the door with the tube of lipstick he had borrowed from Natasha.

"Not that one then," he said in a flat tone.

* * *

Tony circled the atrium, firing at each of the hallways and balconies in turn, forcing the forces gathered there to fall back out of sight. "JARVIS, how are we doing?"

"The new Arc Reactor is working perfectly sir, as are the repairs," the AI responded. "We are still carrying a full brace of missiles to be used if necessary-"

Tony fired at one of the upper level balconies. "I'd rather not use them, we don't know how good the fire suppression is in here… I do wish the big guy was here… Strange how much comfort there is in having an unstoppable rage monster on your side."

"You just like the idea of me breaking their building Tony," said a voice over his helmet com. "It's just too dangerous to have the Hulk smashing his way through a building under London… I broke Harlem already, I don't want to send half of London into the Thames River or something."

"But they could really use your help with decorating…" Tony said over the whine of another repulsor blast. "This place is awful… it's so dark and did you get a load of that statue? According to Jarvis it's solid gold! Maybe I can buy it from them when this is over…" he muttered. "Melt it down and use it in something useful, like microchips… or cufflinks."

* * *

Once they were in the staircase the Black Knight turned to the others. "Okay, how do we do this?" he said, pointing at the spiral staircase. "With me leading floor by floor clearing them as we go?"

Hawkeye chuckled as they were joined by Hermione. "You take the express," he said, thumbing towards the giant green skinned girl. "We'll be right behind you."

"Express?" Dean said, his eyes growing wide as the green skinned goliath picked him up easily, settling him under her left arm, kicked the stone railing away and stepped into the void at the center of the stair case.

Clint smiled at the little girl like scream that ripped from the knight's throat. "Think we should have told him before now?" he asked, as he drew an arrow and fired it into the ceiling at the center of the staircase.

"He didn't ask," she said with a smirk, as she grabbed the line trailing from the arrow. "I'll go first, you take too long," she teased as she looped the rope around one leg in an odd pattern, and dove headfirst down the void, rope still in one hand and pistol in the other.

Clint shook his head as he stepped up and attached a metallic clip and looped it through his harness. "Crazy adrenalin junkies," he chuckled as he followed.


	26. Chapter 26

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 26**

"Finally!" Harry said, as he looked into one of the last two remaining doors.

Steve chuckled. "At least it wasn't the last one."

Harry grimaced. "Yeah, well at least this time I have some idea what I'm looking for," he said, leading the way inside.

Motormouth shrugged. "Okay, you told us this place is some sort of super wizardy place, what the hell makes it so different?"

Harry shrugged. "The Department of Mysteries is where people called Unspeakables study magic, at least that's what we were told… To tell you the truth, thinking back on what I saw here last time, I think they are the wizarding version of mad scientists."

Harley groaned. "Dealt with a few of those nut sacks… They're dangerous."

Harry nodded. "And I know at least one of them was on Riddle's payroll, they knew entirely too much about this place when we fought Lucius Malfoy and the others," he said, stepping up to a door. "This should be it."

Steve led the way inside, shield held at the ready. The center of the room was dominated by a giant pendulum clock floating in mid air, its gears and springs moving slowly.

"Hermione dubbed this the Time Room." He looked around quickly, then sighed in relief. "Looks like we didn't need to worry about this," he said, pointing at a cabinet on the far side of the room.

Both his companions watched, stunned, as the cabinet was hit by a flash of light and shattered, scattering wood, glass and glittering particles into the air in an explosion, only for it to suddenly stop after a few seconds and pause, frozen in time, then reverse and return to an unblemished state.

"Well, that's… disturbing," Steve said. "So those are the time turners?"

Harry nodded. "It looks like they found a way to silence the explosion, but yes that's them."

"Now I see why you and Hermione didn't want Tony down here, he wouldn't leave till he figured that out, and could study those things closer," Steve replied.

Harry shrugged. "I really thought they would have had it sorted by now, it's been two years… Though we did leave a few messes down here… The Hall of Prophesy was all but destroyed, and it was huge, those brain things, in the tank… Merlin knows what else."

Steve shook his head. "We'd best head back and join the others, unless there is something else down here that's dangerous we need to check on?"

Harry smirked. "Oh, I imagine there is plenty more here that's dangerous… including the Veil of Death… but I don't know much more about what's down here. I only knew what those were because Hermione used one our third year to try and take _all_ the electives."

Motormouth's eyes grew wide. "They gave something that can manipulate time to a student? What are they, fucking nuts?"

"So says the girl that's been hopping time lines since she was fourteen!" Harry quipped back.

Harley sputtered. "Yea… yeah well, I wasn't given MOPED on purpose! I just happened to find the damn things! And I did alright!"

Steve chuckled. "Enough, argue later, help our friends now."

Harry and Harley looked at each other, then Steve, Harley shrugged then they stuck their tongues out at him. "Meaaaa!"

Steve rolled his eyes and headed back towards the circle of doors, the teens following.

"Harry? Is it strange we haven't _seen_ anyone in here?" Harley asked. "I mean, you said this place was run by people called Unspeakables. Where are they?"

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea…" he said, looking around, "but we didn't see anyone the last time we were here either… I just thought it was because we were here in the middle of the night."

"And there are no Deathnibbler guards… I don't get it… and it's kind of creepy," she said.

"I agree," Harry said as they stepped into the room of doors and began to spin.

* * *

Once the room had stopped and they had exited back towards the Ministry, two figures in long dark cloaks stepped out of the darkness that hung beyond the ring of doors. Stepping between them the shorter of the two flicked his wrist, a wand appearing in his hand.

"They're gone?" the taller of the pair asked.

"They are," the shorter replied, as he flicked his wand, making the lipstick marks on the doors disappear.

"Then let us begin," the taller one said, turning to one of the doors, opening it and stepping inside, followed by his companion.

* * *

Tony zipped to the right and fired down one of the hallways. "How we doing JARVIS?"

"I have counted fifteen more on the upper level, and six-, excuse me, five on the lower. Ms. Spitfire will complete her task clearing the lower area in an estimated two minutes or less."

"Right," Tony said, wheeling towards a different balcony and firing again, all the while dodging a smattering of spells that were being sent his way. "How did we get stuck with this job again? Whose idea was it for me to 'keep them busy, Tony'?"

"That would be Captain Rogers sir," his AI replied.

"I know that!" he snapped, as a particularly nasty looking purple hex splashed against a wall, causing the solid marble to bubble and melt. "Next time I'm going with the kids, and he can have whoever it is throw nasty crap at _**him**_!" Tony growled.

"I will make a note of it sir," JARVIS said.

* * *

Dane lifted his shield and blocked another spell. "You'd think they'd figure out that's not doing any good," he said, pointing his sword back down the hall and loosing the energy the shield had collected from the spell back the way it had come, shattering the desk the man was trying to hide behind.

Natasha fired her pistols as the man shielded himself behind his arms from the flying debris. "They don't react well to something new do they?"

Hermione scoffed as she threw a desk down a hallway, scattering people like ten pins. "If they did then they may not be in this position!"

Clint stepped around the corner quickly and loosed an arrow that exploded in a shower of sparks. Each body a spark hit shook uncontrollably for a moment before they collapsed. He smirked at the sight. "Love that thing…" he said, quietly. "If I could play devil's advocate, if they _did_ , then this _could_ be much more difficult."

Hermione sighed as she kicked a door out of her way, smashing it across the room in the process. "I guess that could be true…"

A voice crackled to life over her ear piece. "Alright we're done in the DoM, where is every one?" Steve asked.

"Fourth level, Cap," Natasha answered. "We've met some opposition but are making good progress."

"Alright," Steve confirmed, "you keep pushing them up, we'll join up with Tony and Spitfire and hit them from behind as they retreat up the stairs, just like we planned."

"Roger," Nat replied.

"Harry? Hermione asked, "So you secured the Time Turners?"

"Didn't need to," he replied. "They're still caught in that explosion loop."

Hermione snorted. "Really? I thought they would have that sorted by now. Well that's good, I guess."

* * *

Harry pointed towards a wall. "Just lay them there Hermione. Did they all get dosed?"

"Did it myself, with Natasha," she said, laying the limp bodies on the floor where he pointed. "There's just one group left; they were trapped in the Wizengamot chambers, so their wands wouldn't work…. We just locked them in… We found Percy with them."

Harry stopped writing and looked at her. "Really? What did he say for himself?"

Hermione shrugged. "He was following orders as a Ministry official… the prat… It's going to break his parents' hearts."

"He did that a long time ago," Harry said quietly. "I just hope-"

"HARRY!" yelled a voice from across the atrium.

Turning he saw two people he really wished he could have avoided. "Lupin, Tonks," he said coldly.

Paying him no mind the older man clapped him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you Harry, we were worried! You look great! You've grown!"

Harry shrugged the man's hand off. "No thanks to you! I hope you and Tonks had a good vacation while Hermione and I were being hunted and starving!" He poked the grey headed man in the chest. "And don't even get me started on your abandoning me before that! Stay away from me Mr. Lupin! You as well Ms. Tonks!" he yelled and stormed away.

Remus Lupin's eyes grew wider and wider as Harry's voice rose in anger. "W-what?" was all he could mutter.

Hermione shook her head. "He has every right to be angry you know."

The werewolf's head swiveled slowly towards her then up to take in her height, his eyes still wide. He had been so intent on seeing his cub that he had missed the gigantic, and evidently, intelligent green troll that had been several feet away.

"Wha-wha?" he said eloquently.

"If you want Harry back in your life in any meaningful way Professor, you have a long way to go. You as well Tonks," Hermione said, as she walked towards them.

"Wh- what are you?" asked Tonks, drawing her wand.

Hermione shook her head. "I would have thought you talked to the Weasleys already… It's me Tonks, Harry's best friend since first year, Hermione…"

"Hermione!" they both gasped in shock. "How?" Remus asked as Tonks asked, "What happened?" stepping all over each other in the process.

Hermione sighed. "There was an accident…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter at the moment, I need to go find Harry and calm him down. You two need to think about things before you approach him again… He's a lot different now… and what you and the Headmaster did… well, he may never trust some people he thought of as family again." She turned and walked away in the direction Harry had gone.

Remus's eyes followed her then he turned to Tonks. "What did we do?" he asked.

"I-I don't know Wolfie…" she said, tears evident in her eyes. "But we had better figure it out, if we want him to be Godfather to Teddie…"

Remus gathered her into his arms. "We'll figure it out… I promise."

* * *

"This is the Wizarding Wireless News in conjunction with Potter Watch." Said a voice. "Your attention Please."

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Harry said into the microphone, knowing that his voice was being transmitted nationwide as he spoke. "My name is Harry Potter."

He paused and took a deep breath. "Two days ago, the man known a Lord Voldemort attacked Hogwarts… He was defeated, and all students there were unharmed."

He could hear cheers from below them in Diagon Alley. "Early this morning, the same small band of fighters moved against those occupying the Ministry in his name… again they were victorious." Another swell of cheers rose out of the shopping area below them.

"As of this moment the tyranny of Voldemort and his followers is over," he said. "And what did it take to do this? A small group of good people that wanted to help… A group known as the Avengers. You will learn more about them in the days and weeks to come, but for the moment be glad that they decided to make a stand for what is right, not what was easy, and fought against Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, and his band of murderers."

Harry paused for a moment before he continued. "Now it will be up to you, the people of the wizarding world, to make sure that something like this is never allowed to happen again. Thank you, and have a good night."

Fred nodded to him and took over. "This message will be repeated for the next twenty four hours. At this time the only public building open is St. Mungos. A special edition of the Daily Prophet will arrive no later than noon tomorrow, detailing further information. Thank you."


	27. Chapter 27

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 _ **Sorry for the for the delay in chapters, technical issues prevented earlier posting.**_

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 27**

Minerva McGonagall led the small group along the pathway leading up to Hogwarts listening in as they talked amongst themselves.

"Is that the giant squid?" one of the visitors asked, pointing towards the remains of the groundskeeper's cabin that had been crushed by the body of the immense creature.

"It is," was the only reply that McGonagall gave as she continued on towards the castle. She sighed sadly as the murmurs intensified behind her.

Another voice from the group asked, "What happened to the Forbidden Forest? Why is it burnt so badly?"

"That is a question I am sure will be answered shortly," she said in a carefully metered voice. Minerva wasn't sure why Harry and Hermione wanted that… person here but the others had agreed with it so all she could do was tolerate the individual.

"We will be joining the others in the Great Hall," she said, pausing to turn and look at the group as they approached their destination, where Filius Flitwick awaited them. "What you are going to learn here today will most likely be surprising, and perhaps unsettling. For that reason, as well your safety, I have been asked to collect all wands before you enter Hogwarts. This will also be standard procedure for any guests within the castle, other than law enforcement, in the future."

That sent the majority of the group into a frenzy of angry arguments aimed at her. She waited for a moment then yelled, "SILENCE! You are no longer children! You have been asked here to meet with the people that saved our lives! They have put their lives on the line multiple times to aid us against the darkest of foes! And I assure you that it is not in the name of their safety that they ask this, but yours! As well as the children's that are housed within these walls! The only wands in people's hands within the walls, at the moment, are those in the hand of the remaining staff or those personally chosen by us!"

She glared at the group in front of her for a moment, then continued. "We want no misunderstandings here! If you will not comply then Hagrid…" she gestured to the area behind them, where they spotted the half giant standing for the first time, a huge crossbow held loosely in his arms... "will escort you back outside the Hogwarts wards! This school is still on a war footing, its defenses are at their highest levels. Be assured that you will not come to harm within these halls!"

Slowly the muttering group members formed a queue and shuffled their way past, each passing a wand to her.

As one of the men passed her, she spoke again. "While I appreciate that you were Alistair Moody's friend, as well as one of my own, and a decorated auror, you are not here in that capacity at the moment, and it would do a disservice to his memory if I let you walk into the castle with the other two wands you have on your person… I will take the knife as well."

The man turned to her shocked. "Bu-"

McGonagall's glare intensified. "You were one of those requested, by name; if you wish to find out why, give them to me, otherwise collect your wand and be about your day!" The aggravation in her voice was plain.

He slowly nodded, knelt and drew an extra wand from his right boot, and then another from a sheath hidden by his cloak along his back, along with a long bladed knife from the opposite side.

She smiled softly at the man. "Thank you."

After the last one entered she hung back, as they were led inside by her friend. Passing the box she had conjured to hold the wands to Hagrid, she checked that they were out of both sight and hearing range. "Thank you for your help Mr. Stark… you must understand it was a time of war and those that were carrying extra wands... they were just being careful," she said to no one.

A voice replied over the device that he had given her to be placed in her ear. "Oh, we understand Professor," the disembodied voice of Tony Stark said. "And we don't hold it against them, we just want everyone safe. The fewer weapons in the room to worry about the better."

She sighed. "You are correct of course… it's just… we never have treated a wand as weapon… but a tool."

Tony chuckled. "And I am sure that is the way most people use them as well, but that still doesn't mean they can't be used as weapons. Most tools are like that, from the simple lever on up. It's best that we be as safe as we can."

She nodded absently. "Agreed, but thank you for using your amazing armor to make it easier."

You could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "Meh… No problem. Now that my scanners know what to look for…"

A roar came from overhead, as a suit of red and gold flew down from the ramparts and landed. Ironman's faceplate opened, and he gave her a roguish smile. "It was no trouble at all."

* * *

The mutters amongst the group fell silent as they entered the Great Hall and found it filled with the students of Hogwarts finishing their breakfast. It was only a matter of moments before several families were being reunited with tears of joy.

"It does my old heart joy to see such a sight," said McGonagall to Tony, now with his visor closed again, walking beside her.

"Makes me feel the same way," he replied as they moved towards the front of the room, several of their new guests gasping at the sight of Ironman as they passed.

The heads of the adults slowly swiveled to follow them as they made their way to the front of the room where they were joined by not only the Hogwarts staff, but several others in odd clothing.

A blond man dressed in red white and blue and carrying a shield stepped forward, at his side a dark headed teen dressed in blue so deep it almost appeared to be black at first glance. An intense look on both of their faces quieted the room as he addressed the newcomers more than the children in the room. "My name is Steve Rodgers, but most people know me as Captain America."

The teen next to him spoke next. "And I believe most of you know me, but I have grown a bit over the last year or so since my last new picture appeared in the Prophet. My name is Harry Potter."

"Kids," Steve said, addressing the younger members of the group. "Would you please return to your seats and finish your breakfast, if you haven't already, while our visitors get settled…" He smiled at the disappointed looks on both the older and younger people in front of him. "They aren't going anywhere, and neither are you. We want you to hear what is said here today, and afterwards you can spend time with your parents, okay?"

Still looking disappointed they all hugged their parents once again and returned to their seats. "Once arrangements can be made publicly and announced, the staff will be ready to send the children home; they don't believe that will be more than a week or two. Hopefully that will be enough time for parents or other loved ones to make arrangements for them to arrive."

A tall black man dressed in dark robes rose and extended his hand. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, I was an Auror before the takeover and on the team that protected the Prime Minister… I saw what you and your friends did in New York on the news report… He… the Prime Minister, had it on the entire day. You saved thousands of lives that day!"

Steve sighed, as he took the man's hand. "But the cost was high… that was a terrible day for the city… Come, sit. We have much to discuss." He led the group to the front of the room and a small set of tables in front of the staff's seating area.

* * *

"Fred? George?" Harry asked. "Have you got everything ready?"

"Just finishing-" said one of the twins from the right side of the table.

"-checking over everything," said the other from the other side, as they both stood.

"Good, we said we would be on the air at nine this morning, let's get started," Harry said as the group moved to take their seats.

* * *

A short time later one of the twins gave Harry a thumb up sign. "Good morning, my name is Harry Potter. As you were told in yesterday's Daily Prophet, this broadcast is coming to you live from Hogwarts. For those of you that sent owls to the school yesterday please do not do so again, and please do not come to Hogwarts yourself as the school's siege wards are still operational at this time and will remain so until arrangements can be made for the assured safe return of your children. All of the students that were in attendance this year are safe, and accounted for."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "All owls are restricted and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. If the name of a student did not appear in the list that was published in the Prophet yesterday and that you believed to be at Hogwarts, please address an owl to the Ministry, care of the new Child Safety Department, and it will be forwarded to the Hogwarts staff as they have agreed to help out in this time of need. Once received you will be contacted as soon as possible… And please remember, they are doing all they can to try and return Ministry services as soon as possible. Thank you."

As Harry stepped away from the podium another approached the microphone. "This is Minerva McGonagall, interim Headmaster of Hogwarts. Once again I wish to assure all of the parents out there, your children are perfectly safe within the wards of Hogwarts. That said," she continued, "it will be my pleasure to introduce, to those gathered here, as well to those of you at home, those we owe a great debt for not only defeating the self styled Lord Voldemort…"

Many in the gathered audience gasped at her use of the man's name, including many of the adults. She continued, "otherwise known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, but his followers as well."

Several people in the audience looked confused by the pronouncement, as she spoke again. "For those of you listening on the Wizarding Wireless, pictures will be included in tomorrow's Prophet of those I am about to introduce-"

"Wait!" said a redhead that was suddenly standing at the table. "Who is this Tom Riddle? And what does he have to do with He-Who- Shall-Not-Be-Named?"

He withered under the glare turned on him by the elder Professor. "Percy Weasley! Do sit down! That will be one of the points of discussion shortly, after the introductions are made!" She huffed as the young man sat, and adjusted her wire rimmed glasses. "As I was saying, pictures, as well as a small biography, of those I am about to introduce will be included in tomorrow's Daily Prophet, along with a transcript of today's Wizarding Wireless transmission."

"Our first guest is Captain Steve Rogers," she said, gesturing to the Star Spangled Avenger, "or as he is known world wide, Captain America."

Steve waved a red gloved hand as Bozo the photographer from the Daily Prophet snapped a picture of him, as they awaited the polite applause to die down.

"To his right is Mr. Tony Stark, also known as Ironman." Tony removed his helmet and waved to the people gathered. "Next is Clint Barton, Hawkeye." He waved, looking uncomfortable. "And Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Together they are known as the Avengers. All of them have traveled here from the colonies to assist us in our time of darkness."

She turned to the next group. "Now from our side of the pond, Spitfire," The woman dressed in red and gold waved. "And the Black Knight." Several people in the audience gasped as Dane stood next to his new friends. "And a visitor unlike any I have met before, Motormouth…" The young woman took her place next to Dane, a smirk on her dark painted lips.

Stepping forward next came a green giantess. "The next is a name I am sure all of you are familiar with, Hermione Granger… Or as she is coming to be known, She-Hulk." At that point there were several gasps of shock and murmurs throughout the room.

"And of course, Harry Potter." Harry stepped forward next into the rank of heroes. He may not have liked it but Steve had explained how important it was for him to be seen as a role model especially as they were trying to move forward from here.

"I give you the Heroes of Hogwarts!" she said, backing away from the podium, and clapping.

* * *

After the applause broke down Harry approached the podium once more. "Thank you all for your kind applause," he said trying to keep a handle on the nervousness he felt about the next part of the speech the Avengers had helped him craft.

"I know that you all have questions," he said, then took a deep breath. "And we will try our best to answer them, but first I need to tell you a little more about how we came to meet the Avengers."

He took a moment to look at his new friends, then out into the surrounding crowd. "Over the last year…" He turned to Hermione and grasped her hand pulling her up beside him. "Hermione and I, along with Ron Weasley for much of the time, were on the run from the Death Eaters that had gained control of the Ministry. However this was not just for being Public Enemy number 1 and 2. No it was also for another reason, a reason only known to us and given, personally, to us by Albus Dumbledore."

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," he said, waving his wand and causing the name to form in the air in floating flames, "was Lord Voldemort's real name. He was a student at this verry school," he continued, as the letters rearranged themselves in front of their eyes to say _I AM LORD VOLDEMORT_. "He was even given an award for special services to the school, it's up in the trophy room… I've had to polish it more than once," he said with a chuckle.

"He had undergone several dark rituals over his lifetime, and we were searching for rare items to help us undo or suppress those rituals, hoping they would be the key that would allow his defeat." He saw the look of surprise on many of the adults sitting in front of him.

"As for why Professor Dumbledore chose three students that had yet to finish their education to do this is unknown… Even to us." He shook his head, slowly. "There were many times we wished for any form of help while we were on the run… finally a time came when Ron had to leave us as well, as the ruse of his illness with Spattergroit was about to expose his family to more danger." He looked at his old friend and his family sitting at the Gryffindor table. "You did the right thing mate…" Harry said with a soft smile. "I'm glad your family made it through…"

He turned back to the microphone and wiped his eyes. "We were alone, and just about to give up hope when the Avengers found us."

He smiled as he looked at the group to his right. "It wasn't the greatest way to meet, but when they heard our story they were all ready to help… They are some of the greatest friends we could ever hope for."

"Though, in truth," he said, "we were lucky when we met them, even though it was during an accident that ended up with both Hermione and myself injured… I'm just grateful that they were willing to help, even if they didn't know a single thing about magic…"

That set the room into a stir, as several shouts of, "They're muggles?" were heard.

Harry stood quietly and waited for the pelting of shouts and questions to die down, finally it took a cannon blast charm from Flitwick to gain their attention as well as their silence.

In the end only one person remained standing in the audience, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Once it was quiet again he spoke. "Harry, you broke the Statute of Secrecy? They're going to need their memories altered. How cou-"

"How could I do such a thing?" he asked, cutting him off, angered by the man's question.

"Let me ask you a question, what you would have done?" Harry snapped. "You're lost, starving, injured in the edge of a battle not of your own making when you are found by good people, brought to their home and healed, at their expense, all while they are trying to stop an invasion of their city!"

Kingsley stepped back a half step as he spit out the last word. "Then they took the time to find out about us and help plan a way to free our bloody people from a sociopath and his followers! They stepped up! The Avengers, and the people that we met here, then took on those forces both here at Hogwarts, and at the Ministry! Just this group!" he growled.

Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder softly, and pulled him away. "Harry… he doesn't understand… He may have seen what they did in New York… but..."

Dane stepped forward and came to the microphone. "You do not know me," he said as he removed his helmet and set it on the pedestal, "but I suspect many of you here know of my family's mantle and the history of the Black Knight." He looked around the room slowly seeing nervousness in several people's eyes.

"For those of you who do not know of our story, the Black Knight is a mantle passed down through my family, one given to us by King Arthur and Merlin themselves and blessed by Avalon. One that places us in a position to be the _final_ protection of the British realm, magical or not, from threats, be they from within our shores, or born from beyond, an honor my family had lost sight of for a time allowing the rise of not one, but two dark wizards from within our own lands. For this I can only offer you my humblest of apologies, and my assurance that we will not do so again, as Avalon has once again graced my family with its blessings," he said as he lay his hand on the hilt of his sword.

He looked towards his new friends, "These are people who are heroes, ones that have put their lives on the line against threats beyond your most wild of dreams, and against evils that boggle the mind. For their help I say we offer them our thanks, then look to ourselves to see that this type of thing never happens again."

An older woman stood from her chair, adjusting her vulture topped hat as she did. "Sir Knight, my name is Augusta Longbotttom… and yes while I know of, and respect, your mantle, do you expect us to trust them not to divulge our whereabouts, or that magic exists?"

Dane smiled at the older woman. "My dear woman, that is of little issue to them. You may not know this but they are famous throughout the world for their exploits. Captain America, Ironman, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow recently fought side by side with Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, to turn back an invasion of his brother Loki and his minions that would have seen this entire world in ruins. If these so called muggles can see and deal with something like that then I do not believe that keeping your world's existence quiet will be difficult."

"It's true Grams," Neville said, standing at the Gryffindor table. "We saw… well it was kind of like a pensieve of the invasion… It was terrifying."

Augusta Longbottom studied her grandson for a long moment before nodding. "Very well…" She looked at the group in question. "You must understand, we stay hidden for a reason, magic cannot solve all of your problems…"

Tony chuckled. "Miss, we 'muggles' do alright for ourselves," he said with a smile. "In fact I think you may just be surprised about what we can do… that is something that will need to be discussed in great detail in the near future once your government is functioning again. Muggle technology has caught up, and in many cases surpassed your magic."

There were a number of cries of astonishment and disbelief from around the room, at his statement, before the Knight could speak again. "My friend, Tony, speaks the truth. For too long have you blinded yourselves to the world of the non-magical, no longer are they simple uneducated farmers, and have a magic all of their own called science! And Tony Stark and his amazing armor stand at the forefront of their technology."

Tony put his helmet back on and rose into the air at that point and made a slow circle around the Great Hall, before landing again, his face plate popping open again.

One of the boys, his robes highlighted in green and silver, was on his feet in moments. "And that is supposed to impress us? You stupid MUGGLE, we've been flying on brooms for generations! Your clunky armor is no match for..."

"Mr. Loch!" Minerva yelled. "You will sit back down and be silent!"

"No that's alright Professor," Tony said, waving her off. "No… Mr. Loch was it?" The young man nodded. " _That_ was just a demonstration, nothing more… Let me ask you something, how long would it take you to fly from here to… Let's say where you catch the train in London."

The boy scoffed, "We wouldn't do it, it's too far."

Tony shrugged. "Humor me, how long?"

It was Fred and George Weasley who answered, "Top speed of Harry's Thunderbolt, the best on the market, is 240kph and it can reach that speed in ten seconds…"

"Ok, so that's easy to figure out," Tony said, clapping his gauntleted hands together. "How far is it to London?"

"Roughly 800km," McGonagall said.

"Alright then it would take a little over three hours…" Tony said. "I can make it in twenty minutes."

Several gasps came from around the room, but the same young man stood again. "So? We can floo there in just about no time from anyplace in Hogsmeade that is hooked to the network, and…"

Tony held up his hand, causing the boy to pause. "Okay let's make it harder. I can be in Paris France in less than an hour and a half and so can they." He pointed to the rest of the group. "Look, what you need to understand is, the world around you is changing, and you and your people are not! When was the last time a significant change came to your world? The antique train you ride to school in? You need to learn to adapt, and understand what has been happening around you because people are going to notice, and despite all of your amazing spells and hiding as you have, you will eventually be discovered and will be unable to hide yourselves away the same way again!"

"Is that a threat?" asked Kingsley.

It was Harry that stepped forward this time. "There was no threat, Auror Shaklebolt," he said, "Just the truth. You need to understand that these are people that sent men to walk on the moon, and have put permanent structures in orbit around the earth. One of which is an international hub for experimentation, and another is a giant telescope used to learn about the stars… We wizards may still be able to move about quicker by apparition or port-key, both limited greatly by the ability of the caster, but they can move people and cargo by the ton with ease."

Several of the guests looked at each other as he continued. "That is why we brought you here today, and are sending this transmission out live via Wizarding Wireless. This is your chance to change things for the better for your people, to stamp out the blatant corruption, and the pandering, and to put in place a government that is for all of the people not a chosen few. You can be the new leaders of your world, build something new, something that works for everyone, pureblood, half-blood or muggleborn."

It was Rita Skeeter that stood and spoke at that point. "You say that like you will not be a part of it," she said.

Harry looked at Hermione and his friends. "We… Hermione and I, have been through a lot, even more than usual for us over the last year," he said with a chuckle. "We need some time… a break… some time for ourselves. First to look deeper into the changes caused by Hermione's accident, and what it could mean for her future, then to possibly do something else for a while… possibly see some more of the world…"

Loud murmurs filled the room, till Ginny stood. "So that's it then? You're leaving?" she asked tears rolling down her cheeks.

Harry sighed. "For a while… we'll be back, but we need time. Time to rest… time to think. Our lives have been dictated to us for too long, between a psychopath trying to kill us and a headmaster with plans so convoluted that we still can't follow his reasoning," he said, exasperated.

Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder. "And we won't be completely unreachable, I promise, there will be people that will know how to reach us if need be… No worries Gin."

The girl smiled softly and sat again. "Rita, you and Luna," Hermione continued. "We will talk with you shortly and you can ask your questions to be published in both the Prophet as well as the new Quibbler… remember our deal after the Tri-Wizard…" she said, glaring at the woman

The now nervous woman nodded again and sat.

Minerva took that to be her cue. "Now for those of you that are visiting, please feel free to visit your children, and again for those parents at home, your children are safe here, and the Hogwarts Express will hopefully be returning them home in a few days. Thank you and please have a good morning," she finished, leaving the room to dissolve into happy reunited families and students talking about the possibilities of the future.


	28. Chapter 28

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 28**

Harry waved as the Quinjet circled over the small group to settle just outside the shadow of the Whitman estate's most impressive structure, the manor house. At one time it had been the site of a castle but, according to Dane, that had been destroyed during WWII and when his family had rebuilt they had gone with a more modern structure.

A structure that was even now being modernized again, with a little help from Tony.

"It will be good to see them again," a now much smaller and less green Hermione said, as she waved as well.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, a large smile on his face as the jet began to settle on the landing pad. "I want to hear first hand what in the bloody hell happened with SHIELD, and how Fury was killed."

"LANGUAGE!" she said smacking him on the shoulder.

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Sorry 'Hermi."

Her face scrunched up, her displeasure with the name evident. "You're just trying to make me mad, aren't you… my boy," she snarked back

A flash of anger crossed his face briefly. "Okay! Okay! I'll stop!" he said nodding, his smile returning as he spoke again. "You are doing better though… not even a hint of green in your eyes any more."

She sighed. "Good… I do want to start Uni with you on schedule-"

Harry laughed deeply and her face scrunched cutely up again as she punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Only you would be worried about our Uni schedule, we haven't even taken our entry exams." he said, mirth in his voice.

She blushed a little. "It's not just that… it's the potions too…" she said softly.

He nodded and pulled her into a hug. "I know," he said in a whisper. "I know you have been working hard to not change unless you want to, and you hate the way the dreamless sleep potion makes you feel after you take it… but it does get you below that threshold to turn back."

She nodded, face buried in his chest. "… It makes me feel so… Foggy… so hard to think for the duration… and I'm helpless. I can't turn back into the She-Hulk… and I can barely cast… it's horrible."

Harry nodded. "I know… Tony and Bruce are working on duplicating the effects… and your control is improving. We'll get through this, just like we do everything else."

"God!" said a voice from nearby. "It's just fucking sickening! Just how damn cute are the pair of them… makes me want to throw up."

"MMM…" came from another woman's voice. "I've got cavities, I'm sure. Are you sure you two don't need to be someplace more private?"

Harry glared at the blond headed woman as he released Hermione from his arms. "Shut it! The both of you!" Harry said as Hermione wiped her eyes, and they both turned back towards the now silent Quinjet.

Harley looked at the blond next to her. "Must be talkin' bout you and Dane, sure as shit ain't talking about me…"

Jackie shook her head. "I do believe they are… I don't believe the think Harry is having made for you is quite ready."

"Ha!" laughed the dark haired girl. "That's not bad J! I think you're getting the hang of this!"

"Yes, well." She glanced at the girl. "You are such a simple target… you're hard to miss."

Motormouth's head snapped around to look at her, mouth hanging open. "Close your mouth dear," Spitfire chided. "You'll catch flies… Though you may be used to that as much as you keep the thing flapping."

Dane chuckled from near by. "Our Motormouth at a loss for words… how will we live?"

"Quietly for a change?" answered the blond.

* * *

"So what are you going to do now?" Harry asked the Star Spangled Avenger, as they lingered over dessert. "I mean… Is SHIELD done? And what about Hydra?"

Steve shrugged and looked toward Natasha, who was the one that answered. "What SHIELD was, Hydra destroyed. Along with most of their own main agenda. There will be remnants I have no doubt, but they will be scattered and disorganized, at least for the moment."

Steve nodded. "For now?" He shrugged. "I look for Bucky."

Harry nodded. "We can-"

Steve cut him off. "No Harry. You and your group need to stay here. Keep training. Keep an eye on the magical world. Be seen in it occasionally, and work with Dane. The changes they are undergoing aren't easy. Go to University, have some fun… Let us worry about Hydra and the rest. We want to keep you off of their radar as long as possible. Our agreement still stands, graduate first then the Avengers."

Harry sighed but nodded, he didn't look happy but it was the agreement they had reached. He and Hermione had their health monitored, and attended Uni, while undergoing rotating training with different Avengers. Once they graduated they were then free to join them full time.

"Now," Steve said sitting up a little straighter. "What was this about you needing to take a trip to Hogwarts?"

* * *

The seven travelers made their way through the ancient castle along with the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, on the way towards her office. "Harry? Have you been in contact with Mr. Lu- Remus or Tonks?" she asked.

Harry sighed. "I've had more important things to deal with..."

McGonagall looked at him sternly. "And you could not see yourself clear of these things for a few hours to speak with them?"

Harry frowned. "Yeah… I probably could have… but…" He shook his head. "Look I'll get around to it… soon okay?"

She nodded once. "I will pass along that you will be contacting them about a time to meet with them."

Hermione put a hand on his arm, keeping him from saying something he would regret later. "Thank you Headmistress."

The corners of the elder woman's mouth curled up slightly. "It is good to see you back in your normal body, I'm glad Poppy could help."

Hermione looked down at herself. "I- I kind of miss it… and it's not permanent… if I get too angry I become the She-Hulk again… and I hate using the potions to change back… I'm only doing this so we can go to Uni without distractions…"

McGonagall nodded. "Most likely a good choice. Given how the other you stands out."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, finally arriving at her office.

"He wished to see you, alone Mr. Potter," the headmistress said, gesturing towards the door. "We shall await you in the Great Hall."

"Harry?" asked one of the portraits, as he entered.

"Dumbledore!" Harry growled turning toward the man's painting.

"I must say I am quite pleased to see you!" he said.

"No," Harry said. "Not you're pleased, you're surprised."

The portrait's subject frowned. "I assure you I am quite pleased."

He ignored the answer. "You wanted to see me? Us?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.

"Indeed my boy!" Harry bristled. "I wish to hear from you about your adventures and how you succeeded in destroying the last of the objects."

Harry shrugged. "We only found one while we were traveling. Tony destroyed it with a high intensity laser about six months ago."

Dumbledore looked stricken. "Only one? Destroyed it with?... And you are sure it was destroyed?"

Harry nodded. "Watched it myself as it was turned to slag. It screamed, just like the Diary."

"But you found no others?" he asked.

"No," Harry said bluntly, with a shrug.

"But that means… He's still out there Harry!" Dumbledore said in horror.

"If he is, he is." Harry shrugged again. "He has few if any supporters available, and if we can not find his trinkets then it is doubtful anyone else will just stumble across them. Besides the Avengers will come when we call."

Dumbledore shook his head. "You cannot trust to that!" he cried, "You need to find-"

"We _are_ still looking!" he said angrily, " _AND_ we will be there if he does show up again! But I will not sacrifice every waking moment to searching for objects that we have yet to figure out, not only, what they are, but where! You wasted years playing footsy with 'imperioused' Death Eaters when you could have been looking! At the very least you could have written your suspicions clearly and not as part of some overly cryptic puzzle!"

"Harry it was for the Greater Good!" the painting decried, "You were the one told of in the prophecy!"

"Bollix your Greater good!" Harry said back. "Your little games had the both of us lost for months! We had no idea what we were doing and we had no _HELP_! Why in Merlin's name did you send three school kids on such a thing! We weren't ready! We needed someone with experience!"

"That would have drawn too much attention, Harry," the painting replied. "You were the ch-"

"Will you please shut up about me being the chosen one!" Harry cried. "I don't believe in the prophesy! It was given to you by a drunk woman who couldn't see her own reflection in a mirror! We make our own destiny!"

"But-" Dumbledore began again.

"NO!" Harry said. "No more games, no more 'Greater Good', no more lies!"

"I've never lied to you Harry," Dumbledore said, affronted.

"No?" He said incredulously. "Well you sure as hell didn't ever give me any answers! Like why the hell I was left with the Dursleys? Or why you couldn't help me prepare to face Voldemort?"

"I wanted you to be a ch-" the painting began.

"I WAS NEVER A CHILD!" he screamed, causing the paintings on the wall to shake. "You saw to that! You knew what my life was like with them! Figg lived just down the street my entire life! She even looked after me when the Whale and his family went on trips!"

"Harry I ass-" the painting began.

"No," Harry said, regaining control. "No, whatever your reasons were I don't care. You're dead. I'm not. I'm gong to live my life," he said shaking his head. "You enjoy your next great adventure." He turned and walked out the door.

"Harry? Harry? Come back! You need-" The calling voice of Albus Dumbledore fell silent behind him as he shut the door to the Headmaster's office with a quiet click.

* * *

By the time Harry made it to the Great Hall a large smile was on his face. Hermione was on her feet and hugging him before he made it half way to the gathered group.

"I take it things went well?" she asked.

He nodded. "From my point of view, yes." He smirked. "Though Dumbledore's portrait may explode because of his frustration."

McGonagall shook her head. "I tried to warn him that you were different and that you were quite upset with him."

He withdrew from Hermione's arms. "Well he's the one not happy now."

Steve stood next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And you're okay leaving it like this?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "I am. I realized something while I was up there," he said, looking at the gathered group. "Yelling at his portrait, and arguing with him wasn't going to do me any good. What is done, is done. I'm alive and he has passed away. I'm free to live my life, despite what he and his painting may want. My life is my own now."

He took a deep breath and let it out again, relief filling his features. "As for Voldemort, his power is broken again, and while we will still look into his trinkets, we won't let it consume our lives."

"And if Riddle rises again?" Natasha asked.

He shrugged. "We keep training, and working on changing the wizarding world, getting them to join the 21st century. Between that and having the Avengers in our corner… well, we'll deal with it, and put him down again."

Steve smiled and nodded. "All you need to do is call, Harry. We'll help any way we can."


	29. Chapter 29

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **NOTE: PLEASE READ!**

 **There will be an additional week between this and the next chapter due to some travel, I just will not have the time.**

 **So see you all in thee weeks!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

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 **Chapter 29**

Harry sighed as he looked at his watch again, they were late. He grumbled as he took another drink from his cup. "Is it to much to ask for them-"

"Calm down Harry," Hermione said, nodding her head towards the entry of the small coffee shop. "You knew from the beginning when you chose a non-magical spot that it may take them a bit longer than they expected to get here."

He sipped his coffee again. "Yeah… well it doesn't mean I like it."

"Harry, I know you don't want to do this but we said we would talk to them," she said softly.

He sighed. "Yeah… I know… It doesn't mean I need to like the fact that they're late." He glanced up at the menu above the counter. 'Possibly a bite to eat?' he thought, then shook his head and turned back to the conversation.

"At any rate, what did you think of the news about the fall of SHIELD and Fury's death?" Harry asked.

She sighed. "It's horrible! He did so much for us! Then to find out he had been killed by Steve's best friend, and what had been done to him over the years as the Winter Soldier… It's all so awful!"

Harry nodded. "It is and then to find out that Hydra was festering inside of Shield… We can just be glad that Fury kept our secret."

Hermione nodded. "And that of the wizarding world… could you imagine what would have happened if Hydra had known?" She shuddered.

Harry grimaced. "Let's just be thankful that they didn't."

"Harry? Hermione?" asked a hesitant voice from a man approaching them, a tentative smile on his face.

"Mr. Lupin," he replied coldly.

The smile dropped from the tired looking man's face, a hurt look replacing it.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione said. "Please, join us. Where is Tonks?"

He glanced over his shoulder as he moved to sit at the small table. "She stopped by the loo… she'll be along."

"You wanted to see us, Mr. Lupin?" Harry asked, sitting back against the thin cushion of the booth.

"Harry…" he began, then paused taking a deep breath. "I-I don't know what has made you so angry at me… us," he said glancing towards the restroom. "Will you please tell me what we did?"

Harry scoffed. "It's not what you did," he said, his anger evident, "but what you didn't do."

The man looked confused. "What didn't we do Harry?"

Remus sat under the younger man's glare for a long moment before Harry spoke again. "Where were you?" he asked. "Where were you for the ten years I was left with the Dursleys?"

Remus flinched when he spat the name out like a curse. "Harry, I-"

Harry's growling voice cut him off. "Why didn't you tell me you were friends with my parents during my third year? You had all that time to say something but not a word! Then for this last Merlin forsaken year you were again nowhere to be found! Give me one good reason-"

A woman's voice from the edge of the table stopped him cold. "Harry, I'd like you to meet our son, Teddy."

Harry's eyes widened as he looked up to find Tonks standing next to him, a small child in her arms.

He glanced between them. "Your son?" he asked stunned, his eyes finally settling on the small baby head, capped in a blue knit cap. "How? When?... I knew you were together but not…" He gestured to the child.

Tonks sat and handed Teddy to Remus, who smiled widely and bounced the boy lightly, in his arms, before settling him in with his bottle. "He was born in May," she said, watching the scene before her with a growing look of pride. "We found out just before the wedding and your disappearance… we didn't want to say anything and take away from Fleur and Bill's ceremony… We wanted to tell you, but we couldn't find you after that."

Harry looked pained, as he looked back and forth. "I-I'm sorry…" He stammered. "I-I was just so… so angry… We needed help with Dumbledore's task… I-I… You couldn't have helped…" Tears filled his eyes. "Congratulations…"

Tonks smiled at him softly. "It's fine…" Tonks said softly. "Wolfie and I have talked a lot about what may have made you angry and-"

Remus cut her off at that point. "Harry," he said, adjusting Teddy slightly. "I realize now I made a lot of mistakes in the past. Ones that I can only hope you forgive me for."

He took a deep breath, then continued. "I met Petunia once, at your parents' wedding, I should have known…" He sighed. "I should have come and found you… and never listened to Albus, that was a mistake… and so was not talking to you earlier your third year… I was…" He looked down at the child in his arms and seemed to somehow draw strength from seeing him. "I just didn't know how to bring the subject up… It seems so stupid now…"

Hermione took Harry's hand in her own. "Congratulations, both of you," she said with a genuine smile. "We're happy for you both."

Tonks's face broke out in a wide grin. "So you are finally together?" she asked, almost giddy.

Harry and Hermione both blushed, Hermione was the one to answer. "For about a week now…. One of our friends…" her voice trailed off.

Harry snorted. "She yelled at us one night to 'either get together or fucking shag and get it out of our systems'."

Hermione's face darkened. "Yeah… that."

Remus and Tonks broke into laughter. "Told you someone would need to hit them over the head with it Wolfie," Tonks said, calming down.

Harry smiled. "His name is Teddy?" he asked, looking at the baby.

"Edward, actually," Remus said. "Edward Remus Lupin… Tonks insisted."

Tonks chuckled. "You bet, you were going to go along with Mum... and I will not have a child of mine named Eridanus…after a constellation!" she said sternly.

Remus chuckled. "Yes dear," he said, leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Harumph…" she said crossing her arms, "It's a stupid tradition! Giving children such horrid names!"

Remus smiled at his wife and sat back adjusting the now finished eating Teddy to burp. "As for the other times…" he said sadly. "I-I trusted Albus. He said you were safe."

Harry shook his head. "He told so many half truths in his time…" Harry grumbled. "Did you know I was already at the Dursleys' and under blood wards _before_ Sirius caught up with Peter?"

Remus's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "Hagrid actually saw Sirius that night, he gave him the motorbike he took me there on. If he had wanted me dead he had ample chance right then."

Tonks looked at him stunned. "B-but that doesn't make any sense!"

Harry nodded. "It took him two days to find Peter, he told us himself at Headquarters… Why didn't Dumbledore stop him? Why was I placed there before he had ever done anything? I should have been left with him."

The couple across from them looked at each other stunned as Harry continued. "All he would ever say was 'it was for the Greater Good' or 'it was for your own safety'. I think it was all crap," he said.

Hermione nodded. "We've done a lot of thinking about this and the prophecy, we have come to the conclusion that Dumbledore's interpretation… well, it… he was wrong."

Remus's eyes widened. "What? Why would you say that?"

Harry sighed and told them the prophecy, who made it, where it had been made, and what had actually happened afterward.

"Snape!" Remus growled, handing Teddy back to Tonks as his anger grew. "I'll-"

Harry waved his hand cutting the man's tirade off. "He'll get what is coming to him, they all will when the trials start."

Calming, Remus sat forward. "Why do you believe he was wrong?"

She shrugged. "Because, despite the fact it was given in a pub by a woman who drinks more sherry than a restaurant uses to cook leads us to question its validity, it was most likely complete the night harry was attacked. Riddle had been vanquished, and steps could be taken to be ready for someone like him ever rising again."

Remus looked between the young couple, his eyes wide. "You vanquished him that night…"

Harry nodded. "And he marked me as his equal the moment he decided it was me and not Neville. I survived and had a chance to start living again at that moment, but was denied it by placing me at the Dursleys'. Unfortunately it is only now that I truly feel like I'm _living_ ," he said, squeezing Hermione's hand.

Hermione continued. "Dumbledore may have interfered with the actual conclusion of the prophecy…" she said sadly. "Placing him with the Dursleys… it kept him from _living_."

Tonks gasped. "Neither can live, while the other survives…"

Harry nodded. "And then he didn't stand up for what was right when several of the Pure Bloods were tried, he had the power but not the will to stop them from bribing their way free and back into society. He was more concerned with redemption than preservation of the innocent… Even within the walls of Hogwarts… Just look at Malfoy and his goons."

Remus looked stricken by the thought. "You've given us a lot to think about Harry," he said. After a quiet moment he spoke again. "But we wanted to see you about something else today, as well."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

Remus hugged his wife to his side. "We wanted to ask you to be Teddy's Godfather."

Harry's eyes widened. "Me?" he asked. "But… I'm… I-I can't… I'm too young!"

Remus chuckled. "We've thought about this a long time Harry, this is what we want. We don't think we could find someone better suited."

Harry glanced back and forth between the older couple then at Hermione, who gave him a tender smile and a nod. Looking back at them his face broke out in a wide grin. "I'd be honored."

Tonks stood and walked around to his side of the table placing the bundle in his arms. "Then it is about time you were introduced to your godchild don't you think? Harry this is Teddy. Teddy meet your Uncle Harry!" she said happily.

Harry looked down at the small child in his arms, as his hand wrapped around Harry's finger and pulled it to his mouth. He couldn't help staring at Teddy's brown eyes for a moment, then suddenly, in the blink of an eye, they were green just like his.

"Something tells me he takes after his mother," he said with a chuckle.

Remus laughed as well. "He did the eye thing, didn't he?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, well he does that to his grandma too… Sometimes his hair as well. I think he knows you're family."

Harry's smile widened. "Hello Teddy. It's nice to meet you."

* * *

"So, it's agreed then?" Dane asked the group sitting around the ornate dinner table.

The group nodded. "Alright then, I'll contact Steve and Tony to see if they will help us set something up. Between all of us we should be able to figure out who we need to talk to in Her Majesty's Government, to offer our help."

As the group stood Jackie asked the others to stay behind for a moment. "You three have a decision to make. One that I want each of you to consider carefully," she said sitting again. "Once we do this there will be no going back, so _think_ about what I am about to say."

She looked at each of them in turn ensuring she had their attention. "You need to decide if you want to hide your true identities or not." The three young people across from her looked at each other.

"I have hidden my identity for years," she said with a smile. "It hasn't been easy all of the time, but it has allowed me some semblance of a normal life… despite the added hurdle of my apparent age."

Harley quirked an eyebrow. "Just how f-old are you J?" she asked, actively trying to curb her habit.

Jackie smiled, showing her full fangs. "Much older than I look, I assure you," she said, sitting back into a relaxed position. "The speed is my own… and as for being a vampire infused with… well never mind that, it was an accident and I really doubt it could happen again. Just be glad that I do not suffer from the hunger or other issues my cousins do."

Harley gulped. "Right… I never hid who I was before-"

"But remember, my dear," Jackie said holding up a finger. "It is for the protection of those you will grow close to as much as your own. Especially as Tony has said he does not think your dimensional abilities are going to be available for some time, possibly several years."

Harley froze; she had never had to worry about that before. Everyone she had been around had been able to fend for themselves or they had not been around enough for them to become a target. "I-I'll think about it."

Harry nodded. "I think it will be for the best… I'll need to think up something.

Hermione shrugged, "I'll be big and green, I think that will be plenty of change."

Jackie smiled and pulled out a heavy looking silver watch. "Something Tony made, he didn't want you to going through any issues because of your connection to the Hulk." She turned on the screen beside her. "It will place a holographic overlay over your body, and you will look like this in your She-Hulk form."

Hermione looked at the rotating picture. It would cover her green skin tone with a normal looking tan, and her hair with deep red. Her costume however looked the same.

"Tony told me that lots of people would gain an interest in you if you became widely known as the She-Hulk, and this may be a better choice for you, though you would need a new code name," Jackie said.

Hermione nodded. "Titania… We'll call me Titania."

Jackie looked stunned for a moment. "As in the queen of the fairies?"

Hermione nodded. "For now… at least until Harry and I are done from Uni."

Jackie nodded, handing her the watch. "As for you Harry..." She reached below the table and pulled out a heavy looking leather bag. "I- I want you to have this. My brother wore this many years ago… and I think he would have liked you… you remind me a lot of him. His name was Brian Falsworth, but the people knew him as… Union Jack."


	30. Chapter 30

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **Chapter 30**

"And he's alone?" the blond woman asked.

"Yeah," her friend replied. "He's all alone, I made sure, he's studying at the table near the back wall."

"Good!" she said with a wide smile. "I've been waiting for a chance like this! How do I look?" she asked, turning away from the mirror after finishing the touch ups to her makeup.

"Smashing, Court!" the brunet replied to the beautiful blue eyed blond. "Now get out there!" she said.

"Is someone sitting here?" a feminine voice asked.

Harry didn't bother to glance up from the screen on his Stark Industries laptop, as he continued to type. "No," he said, as he checked one of the books he was using as a reference.

"Do you mind?" the voice asked.

He shrugged. "No."

After she settled in the chair across from him she pretended to work for a moment. "I think we are in the same literature lecture…" She continued when he didn't look up, "with Dr. Graves… Tuesday and Thursday? Just after lunch?"

He just nodded again, still not looking up. "Mmmmm… Yeah."

She gritted her teeth in aggravation, but hid it behind a pleasant smile. "Soooo… what do you think of the class?"

He shrugged again. "I like it…" A quiet buzzing came from the phone lying next to his computer.

She glanced down at the phone as his hand moved to pick it up, trying to see the source of this interruption. Despite her best efforts his hand obscured the screen blocking her from seeing what it was, though she was almost sure it was not a call or text, as he did not answer or reply.

He frowned at the screen momentarily, before scooping up his computer quickly and snapping it shut, then sliding it into a backpack in one swift motion.

"Something wrong?" she asked as he stood quickly and slipped his jacket on.

"Hunh? What?" he said confusedly as he dropped his reference book on the librarian's cart, while wishing he had a moment to return the book to its proper place, Madam Pince would have ripped strips off him if he had done something similar at Hogwarts. "No… I just need to take care of something," he said looking at the girl for the first time. "It was nice to meet you…" He stumbled when he realized he didn't know her name.

"Ross," she said smiling brightly, and holding out her hand. "Courtney Ross."

Harry took her hand briefly. "Harry Potter," he said with a crooked smile. "Sorry, but I've got to run."

She watched as he made his way toward the side stairs and out the door, before her pleasant smile morphed into a thin line that showed her aggravation. "Dammit!" she said under her breath as she stood and moved toward the nearby window, looking out on the yard beside the building, trying to get a glimpse at her quarry as he left.

The brunet was at her side moments later. "What happened Court? Where did he go?"

Growling quietly, Courtney answered. "I think he had to be someplace, and had an alarm set on his phone." She shook her head when her quarry didn't appear downstairs. "He must have gone the other way…" she muttered.

The brunet shrugged. "No worries Court. We'll figure it out."

Courtney nodded as she retrieved her things from the table. "Let's get out of here, I hate the library… it's too quiet."

* * *

Harry trotted down the stairs looking around making sure the coast was clear and he couldn't hear anyone in the stairwell, then as he reached the landing he spun on his heel and disappeared with an almost inaudible 'pop'.

When he stepped out of the spin he was standing just outside the front door of the Whitman estate, another 'pop' from nearby told him his girlfriend of almost six months had arrived. "Hey," he said, accepting her hug and a quick kiss. "Let's get changed, I'll meet you in the war room.

"Alright," she said, opening the door and stepping inside. "Did you make any headway on your paper?" she asked as they jogged up the steps.

"I finished all of the research, and have my references," he said as they reached the landing and turned down one of the hallways. "It's down to writing it, I hope to be done before our date Friday."

She smiled at him. "That will mean the rest of the weekend without worries! Once I read it and make some notes of course… revisions can wait till next week, this weekend we deserve a break."

He nodded. "Yeah we have been studying kind of hard, I'm looking forward to this weekend."

"Me too, see you downstairs," she said, as they headed toward their rooms.

* * *

Harry and Hermione arrived within moments of each other, both in their newly updated costumes.

Harry's looked much the same, only it now sported a muted colored Union Jack on the upper panel on his back, covering the shoulders of his great coat. A holster on his left hip held a pistol, ready for cross draw, and a trench knife handle protruded from the top of his right boot just slightly, and a balaclava hid not only his face but his eyes as well, in an inky dark blue featureless mask.

The up dated version of the Webley Mk IV looked identical to the one that Brian Falsworth had carried when he held the mantle of Union Jack. Tony had done quite a bit of his magic on the gun, giving it not only a tazer like round (that left a red trail, making it look like a stunning spell), but also a tracker round as well, allowing him to follow a target from a safe distance. The knife now held a backup wand hidden in the handle and up into a hollow in the blade… just in case.

He had also paid a visit to the twins' joke shop and had filled several of his belt pouches with all kinds of goodies from them as well.

Hermione's hadn't changed much, though she had opted to change the color from purple and cream to a deep brick red and cream in a slightly different pattern, to go more with the coloring of the projection that came from her gauntlet.

Moving to their seats, they looked around at the others already gathered, giving them questioning looks as they glanced at the unknown woman sitting at the head of the table.

"Alright where's the last one of you lot?" that woman asked.

"Keep your skirt on luv!" said an agitated voice from the hallway. "I just got this damn suit two days ago! Takes a bit of getting used to, it does!" the voice's owner went on as she entered.

Gone were the punk style clothes, though she still preferred that style out of costume, and in their place was a black and red suit with a yellow circle on the center of the chest. A dark gray metallic harness rested on her shoulders and ran down connecting to a heavy belt around her waist, while supporting a grey box above her left shoulder. Matching metallic grey gauntlets sat on each wrist, and her face was hidden behind a matching mask.

"Have you settled on what you want to be called yet Harley?" asked Hermione.

She shrugged. "I wanted to go with Killpower… I mean I modeled the suit after his and all…" she said sadly, missing her lost friend. "But they think it would give people the wrong message."

"Yeah like no one would get the wrong idea with a name like that…" muttered Spitfire under her breath.

Harley glared at the woman. "We finally settled on something simple… Archer."

Hermione nodded.

The woman at the end of the table stood, drawing their attention to her. "Great, with that settled we can get on with this!" she said.

Harry took a good look at her at that point. She stood about five foot nine, in short heels, and was wearing a dark purple business suit with a cream colored top, had long black hair, brown eyes, and round metal frame glasses. She carried herself with confidence and gave off a stern feeling much like that he had once associated with the now Headmaster of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall.

"My name is Romany Wisdom and I will be your contact and coordinator with British Intelligence and Law Enforcement." She looked at her watch. "From this point on any summons you receive will tell you to gather here unless otherwise instructed by coded message sent directly to your combat coms. Understood?"

The group nodded.

"Excellent!" she said. "Welcome to S.T.O.R.M., _**S**_ trategic _**T**_ hreat _**O**_ bservation, _**R**_ etaliation or _**M**_ itigation. Your unit code name will be _**AVALON**_!

 _ **To be continued, in Avalon Vol, 1! I will post to this story when the new book begins, as an alert to the new story, but that may be a while.**_


	31. Chapter 31

**Preview:** **This chapter will also be uploaded as a new story, Avalon V1: Union Jack Please set announcements accordingly.**

 **SEE ABOVE! **

**Edited by the mighty pazed!**

 **Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!**

 **READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!**

 **CHAPTER 1**

Harry stood from his crouch, adjusting his long coat as he did, while a small smirk played across his lips hidden by his full face balaclava. "Got ya'!" he said quietly as he began running toward the edge of the building.

Without stopping he flung himself into the night air. "Aresto Momentum," he muttered as his wand slid into his hand with a thought, causing his downward momentum to slow and allowing him to glide easily across the wide multi-laned street below onto the roof of the museum.

Just as quickly as it had appeared his wand was gone again when he landed, crouching with his eyes scanning the roof and his ears straining for the smallest sound.

The creak of metal across metal set him in motion in a low lope across the rooftop, moving from shadow to shadow. "This would be so much easier with my cloak…" he muttered under his breath. "But there are to many security cameras around here… it would be difficult to explain if I just popped out of nowhere…"

He watched, with a small smirk, from the shadows as a dark foot disappeared into the ventilation system.

Following his quarry's lead he gave them a moment then made his way inside as well.

So this was the 'Shadow Thief', he thought as he made his way down the hallway, watching as the leather clad woman worked. Moving closer, he studied her. She stood somewhere between 167 to 176cm (5ft 6in to 5ft 8in), and seemed to be in excellent physical shape, given the way her tight leather hugged the contours of her body. Her head was covered and a set of gleaming goggles hid her eyes. In her hand she held the Star of Latvia, a flawless diamond larger than a man's thumb, and worth millions.

"I'm afraid I will need you to place the diamond back in the case," he said, stepping out of the shadows and triggering the security doors manually, sending them crashing to the ground behind him blocking her escape.

If she was surprised by his presence she didn't show it, as she continued to admire her prize under the moonlight. "Beautiful is it not?" she asked. After a moment she tore her eyes from it and moved them to her challenger.

"Ah! The infamous Union Jack!" she said, with an almost happy note. "I was wondering who had been on my trail."

"I expect the Yard has been as well," he said, stepping forward, carefully. Something was wrong here.

"Oh, I know they were. but they are so predictable," she said with a flip of her wrist for emphasis. "They aren't very difficult to distract, or evade… Will you prove to be a better adversary? Especially seeing as you are on the run from them now as well."

The way she was speaking bothered him, she had a plan. 'Was there something I missed?' he thought.

Stopping, he quickly scanned their surroundings, he couldn't see anything. "Just put the diamond down and put your hands up. I don't-"

She was suddenly a blur of movement, coming toward him. His eyes widened at her remarkable speed. Even as his right hand freed his pistol and brought it to bear, she had closed the distance to him, all thirty feet in the time it had taken for him to aim!

Stopping just inches from the barrel, he could see a smile form in the shadows of her cowl. "Oooh! You are quick! This will be fun!" she said, as she flipped backward bringing her foot into contact with his pistol just as the red colored shot rang from it, pushing it overhead and sending the pistol tumbling away, to drop to the floor a short distance away, at the end of its lanyard.

Harry dodged the crescent kick that followed, his hand wrapping around the small cord that connected his pistol to his belt, and gave it a jerk. His seeker reflexes would have been enough before, but now with his abilities augmented by the Super Soldier and Infinity formulas, allowing him to track it in mid-air and move his hand in such a way that he would be able to pluck it ready out of the air was child's play.

"No! None of that!" yelled a voice, as a flash of moonlight caught on a silver sliver on the woman's heel as her dropkick flashed trough the air just beyond his fingers.

His eyes widened as the cable was severed neatly and his pistol skittered away across the floor.

His opponent waggled a finger at him. "I don't much care for firearms," she said with a hiss. "Even one as non-lethal as yours my dear Jack." She backed off a step. "Besides they tend to skew a contest such as the one I wish to have with you!" Suddenly she was a blur of movement again.

With a grunt he took the impact of her sweeping kick on his forearm and shoulder.

He was impressed. He had learned much over the last few years training with Steve and Natasha. This woman, she was quick, and had an explosively powerful kick.

She backed off again, shaking her leg. "What are you made of luv?" she asked in surprise. "Iron?"

"Nope, just flesh and blood," he said, intersecting her next kick with a lifted knee in a muay thai style, then catching her in the stomach with a rabbit punch.

He could hear the happiness in her voice as she spoke. "So you're not afraid to hit a lady."

He chuckled under his breath as they circled, "I know many that would make my life unbearable if I thought like that… besides Ladies aren't thieves."

"Oh now you're just being mean!" she chided, as they once again traded blows.

Sirens sounded and lights could now be seen reflecting in the marble. The woman dropped her stance. "It seems we have run out of time for our dance," she said lightly. "Shall we call this one a draw?"

"If you leave the stone and you give up, sure," he said, standing straighter and turning to face her.

"Can't do that love," she said, a smirk playing over lips hidden in her cowl.

"Then it is time we end this," he said as a small package dropped into his hand from the sleeve of his coat and into his palm.

With a flip of his wrist a black box hit her chest and popped open, wrapping her in metallic cords.

Her head snapped back in surprise. "What?" She stumbled as they pulled tight around her legs, falling to the floor.

He shrugged and said, "Restraining bands," as he walked over and retrieved his pistol. "They will hold you till the bobbies have you in a holding cell."

He could tell she was glaring at him as he slid the pistol home, and approached her. "And I'll just take that," he said, pulling the diamond from the pocket where she had placed it.

He put the diamond back in the case, stepping between her and the case as he did and cast a quiet 'reparo' on the cut ballistic glass, sealing it shut again.

Smiling behind his mask he turned toward her again, only to find her standing next to the broken bonds, glowering at him, her cowl down and goggles off.

She was stunning! Her long auburn hair, with red highlights, cascaded around her shoulders and her grey eyes sparkled. "You have cost me my prize tonight, Jack!" she growled. "Next time won't be so easy!" she said as she shot into the air, stopping just below the skylight, her hair floating in the currents around her. "Next time HEARTBREAKER WINS!" she yelled.

He watched, stunned, as she made two wide sweeping kicks with her heels, slicing cleanly through the reinforced steel and ballistic glass above them. It crashed to the floor and she flew into the night.

"Damn…" he said, coming to himself and making his escape.

* * *

"Home sweet home…" he said, stepping into No. 12 Grimmauld Place. He walked down the short entryway, past the now replaced wall Walburga Black's annoying painting had once hung on and into the kitchen.

He pulled his mask and gauntlets off and placed them on the table, soon followed by his coat and combat belt. As soon as they were all in a pile they disappeared. He smiled. "Thank you Winky… I used a restraint pod, could you replace it please…. Oh, and could you repair the lanyard on my pistol?"

There was a quiet, "As you wish Master Harry, dinner is on the table… They was here again… outside," the house elf whispered, tugging on her dress.

He sighed. "Who?"

"Masters, large ex-miss… and Mr. Dane," she said, looking down.

"Did they stay long?" he asked, sitting.

She shook here head. "No, sir," she said. "They stayed in the park across the street for just a few minutes…"

"Good." He nodded as he began to eat. "That means she can remember there was something here but she can't see it… the new Fidelius is working… I'll need to thank Luna for her help… is Jackie awake?"

"She is showering now and will be down shortly," Winky said, moving to the stove. "I informed her of Master's return, she will be down for dinner soon."

Harry nodded and continued with his meal, his mind drifting back through the events of the last few years.

It was easy when it started. Every chance they had, Steve or Natasha came and helped them train and Tony even dropped in every so often. Hermione and he were dating while going to Uni and they helped the Wizarding World start to restructure. They even helped out the government several times on missions as part of _STORM_ ( _ **S**_ trategic _**T**_ hreat _**O**_ bservation, _**R**_ etaliation or _**M**_ itigation) … Then things began to fall apart.

Harley decided she had had enough of being a renegade then hero, she had met someone that was working with the visiting Jane Foster when she was giving a talk at Cambridge. Her name was Darcy. They had become fast friends though he didn't know if it was more, and with her unique understanding of parallel dimensions she had been asked to join Jane's team.

Dane's time was being taken up more and more with his expanding duties as the Black Knight to Avalon, both the mystical place and the developing STORM division. He was just not available as often.

Then there was Hermione…

Things between them had been great, as far as he was concerned. She had decided to study law and had set out to achieve her goal just as she did every academic achievement she had set her sights on,while he had taken a bit more time before he started on an electrical engineering degree.

They had spent as much time together as their schedules allowed, just enjoying being together even if much of that time was spent studying..

All of that changed one night when they had taken the next step in their relationship.

Harry had cooked her favorite dinner, arranged everything to be perfect, and asked her to marry him. She had said yes…

And for the first time they went to bed together…

That was when they found out her control of her powers was not as perfect as they had believed it was. He had spent hours at St. Mungo's.

The simple truth was they could not have that form of intimacy. Evidently sexual excitement would trigger her change just like anger, and in her other form her Hulk-like strength just would not allow it, even the slightest lapse in her concentration would see him injured.

Harry had tried to convince her that it didn't matter, that it was not something that should stand in their way… but it was something she was convinced he deserved and she could not give.

From there on they had drifted apart little by little.

Then the Moldova incident happened.

It almost felt like a dream now, he had watched it happen on the news, unable to get clearance from STORM to help.

That was the day he and Spitfire had left; they were no longer going to be told who or when they could help!

Now there was this crap with the accords… Hermione and Dane had been pressuring them to sign, to do things legally and yesterday had been the last day before the deadline. So now, after going out in costume tonight, his choice had been made, his die was cast. He was a renegade from the law again, hunted this time by both worlds, Magical and Non, for doing what he felt was right.

Here was the only place it was safe, his Godfather's old home protected by a new Fidelius charm, whose secret keeper was one who, even if Hermione could find her in her travels, she would be unable to bring herself to force the secret out of … Luna Lovegood.

Jackie stepped into the kitchen. "So? How did it go?" she asked, sitting at the table.

Harry shrugged. "The 'Shadow Thief' didn't get the diamond… But she got away," he said between bites.

"She?" Jackie asked.

He nodded again. "I got a good look at her, and her name… She called herself Heartbreaker."

Jackie's eyebrow raised. "Heartbreaker?" she asked. "How did she get away?"

He chuckled. "She flew."

Jackie looked even more surprised. "Flew?"

"Yeah. She's fast too, not as fast as you, but fast, and she has these wickedly sharp heels on her boots, she cut through the reinforced skylight by kicking with them."

Jackie let out a low whistle. "That could be dangerous," she said, taking her first bite.

Harry shrugged again. "True, but the way she acted, and fought… She disarmed me of my pistol, then wanted to fight me evenly, hand to hand… I don't think she wants to hurt or kill anyone… I think she likes the challenge."

"You still shouldn't underestimate her Harry," she said as she continued to eat.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Mum," he said with a smirk.

She threw her napkin at him, her lips in a small smile.


End file.
